Three questioned over 'tiger kidnapping'

Three men were questioned today after an armed gang held a man hostage while his partner handed over a ransom demand.

Another couple and two children were also detained at gunpoint as part of the so-called tiger kidnapping.

Four armed and masked men forced their way into a house in the south of Belfast last night and ordered a woman to go to her place of work on Boucher Road and remove cash from a safe, police said.

Her partner was taken hostage, driven off in a van while the other couple and the two children stayed at the house. After the money was handed over to some of the gang who followed the woman, the man was released unharmed.

A police spokeswoman said three men were later arrested in connection with the police investigation into the kidnapping.