THREE Dublin criminals kidnapped a man from Northern Ireland and then held him hostage at a house in Lucan where they attacked him before the man escaped when his captors fell asleep. The Northern Irish man made his way to Lucan garda station after he freed himself yesterday morning. After he explained that he had been falsely imprisoned, gardaí made their way to the address in Lucan where he had been held.

His three captors had since awoken and had left the house but hadn't travelled far when garda squad cars arrived and arrested them.

The three men, one of whom is a known criminal from south Dublin in his early 40s, travelled to Magherafelt, Derry, on Friday and kidnapped the man from his home. Gardaí are probing whether the Northern Irish man may have become embroiled in a row over money with the criminal from south Dublin. This criminal has previously been imprisoned for 10 years for a failed armed robbery where shots were fired.

It is believed the three men brought their victim by car to a house in Lucan. He was then beaten and tied up by his captors. While he has sustained some injuries, they are not believed to be serious. Over the course of the night, the three men fell asleep and the kidnapped man managed to free himself and make his escape.

Two of the three criminals are being questioned at Lucan garda station while the third is being held at Ronanstown. They are being held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, meaning they can be held for 24 hours.

A source said last night: "This is a case of false imprisonment, which is very serious. We are still interviewing the man who was kidnapped to try and establish why he was targeted."