Thje stolen Renault Laguna car used in the tiger kidnap and robbery

DETECTIVES have renewed their appeal for public help over a terrifying tiger kidnap last week in which a substantial ransom was paid.

Officers are revisiting three key scenes in relation to the kidnapping of a family’s teenage son in Bangor, Co Down.

The PSNI has also renewed their appeal for anyone who may have witnessed anything connected to the armed robbery and kidnapping to come forward.

Last Thursday, an 18-year-old man was kidnapped by a masked gang after the men broke into his home in the Bexley area at around 10.15pm.

The three masked men, armed with a sawn-off shotgun and a knife, made serious threats to the man and his 52-year-old father.

The gang drove the teenager to a house in the Beechmount Parade area of west Belfast after they stole the family car and changed its plates at around 4am on Friday morning.

The number plates of the grey Renault Laguna, GJZ 9090, were changed to false ones with the registration number RJZ 6968.

A substantial sum of money was then handed over to the driver of the family’s stolen car at the Anchor Lodge filling station on the Ravenhill Road in south Belfast at around 7am.

A cash-in-transit vehicle was in the forecourt at the time.

The 18-year-old escaped from the house where he was being held shortly before 9.30am and raised the alarm.

It is understood he was helped to safety by a pupil from Corpus Christi school in west Belfast.

The Laguna was spotted in the Westlink/Barrack Street area of the city before it was abandoned in the Ainsworth Avenue of west Belfast.

Police are retracing the movements of the gang at key scenes at Bexley, the Anchor Lodge Filling Station and Durham House between College Square North and Galway Street in the city centre.

Officers are appealing for information from anyone who was in those areas exactly a week ago and who saw anything.

An appeal was also made about a dark grey Honda Civic car which may have stopped for a wheel change between Belfast and Bangor sometime during the incident last Thursday night and Friday morning.

The car had the registration number TIW 8819 when it travelled to Bangor on Thursday evening.

The plates were changed to false ones, OJZ 4157, on the return journey to Belfast in the early hours of Friday morning.

Detective Inspector Chris Wilson said: “The victims of this kidnap and robbery are still recovering from their terrifying ordeal.

“I would ask people who were in the specific areas of Bangor last Thursday night or Belfast on Friday morning to think if they saw anything which might help our inquiries.

“I would urge you to think about your movements last week and whether there is anything you can tell us which might assist our investigation.

”Those responsible for inflicting such terror pose a risk to everyone in the community while they remain at large,” added DI Wilson.