Crime & Law

Gardaí arrest eight people after woman held hostage and tortured in Dublin flat

Woman (30s) found with litany of injuries including burns and suspected broken bones

Gardaí unexpectedly came across the scene on Thursday night when they were searching for drugs in the area of Bolton Street, Dublin 7. File photograph: Frank Miller/The Irish Times
Conor Lally
Fri Sept 27 2024 - 17:22

Gardaí have arrested seven men and a juvenile after a badly injured woman was found held hostage in a Dublin city centre flat. The incident occurred on Thursday evening when gardaí called to the flat in the north inner city to execute a search warrant.

They unexpectedly came across the scene when they were searching for drugs in the area of Bolton Street, Dublin 7, but instead found a woman with a litany of injuries, including burns and suspected broken bones.

Gardaí are trying to establish if the woman was beaten and tortured with heated implements or tools, possibly including a blow torch, inside the flat while being held against her will.

One line of inquiry is that the woman, who was described as vulnerable, was being held hostage and subjected to a beating, and forms of torture, over a drugs debt. She has since been taken to the Mater hospital where she is undergoing treatment.

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While gardaí have made no comment on the nature of the violence at the centre of the case, they have confirmed an investigation is under way and that eight arrests have been made.

“Gardaí in Bridewell arrested eight males in relation to an investigation into alleged false imprisonment of a female, aged in her 30s, at a property in Bolton Street, Dublin 7, on the evening of Thursday September 26th,” it said in reply to queries.

“The eight males – aged in their 20s, 30s, 50s and one juvenile – are all currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Garda stations in the Dublin region.”

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Conor Lally

Conor Lally

Conor Lally is Security and Crime Editor of The Irish Times