Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Mobsters threatened to kidnap my fiancee & sell her for sex while holding me at gunpoint
Couple tell of crime gang terror during holiday from hell
We were taken into the car for an hour. We were lucky to get away MICHAEL GALLAGHER ON LIVELINE YESTERDAY
A HOLIDAYMAKER and his fiancee have told of their kidnapping terror on their holiday from hell.
Michael Gallagher and his fiancee Aine booked their getaway to Portugal to celebrate their recent engagement.
But the happy couple suffered a run-in with vicious thugs in tourist hotspot Albufeira.
Speaking to Joe Duffy on RTE’S Liveline yesterday Michael told of the terrifying series of events that led to the couple forking out around £600 to their kidnappers.
He said: “We arrived in Portugal last Friday, the 4th of January. We booked the holiday to celebrate our engagement. On Sunday night, we were walking up the strip and we were taken into the car for over an hour.
“We saw them at a bakery. They came out of it while we were passing and they pulled a gun on us. They threatened to sell my fiancee into the sex trade and said they were going to shoot me.
“They brought the gun to shoot me and the driver of the car had to punch the guy with the gun to get him to not shoot me.”
The thugs then took the couple to a secluded laneway where they threatened them and took the money they had on them. Brave Michael also told of their escape when his partner went to the ATM to get money out.
The business owner, from Co Donegal, revealed: “My partner said we’ll go to the bank and get them more money. When she got out of the car to get the money, she asked me to help her.
“I got out too and then we made a run for it into a bar. We were lucky to get away. We haven’t had a holiday at all. We’ve spent the last five days in hospitals and police stations.” Michael also told Joe about how the Portuguese police are watching the group and plan to tackle them in the coming days. He said: “They have evidence and they know who did it.
“Basically 10 undercover police officers have them under surveillance and if they catch them again, they’re going to shoot to kill.”
RTE reported Portuguese police are taking the incident “very seriously” and have two teams working on the case.
A spokesperson for travel insurance company AIG said: “AIG sympathises with the situation this couple found themselves in and has been in regular contact with the couple since the incident to offer its support.”