‘Terrifying ordeal’ for man held in container

crime: Victim kidnapped by gang and held for ransom

Images of a squalid shipping container where a kidnapped cattle dealer was held hostage as a criminal gang demanded a 400,000 euro ransom have been revealed by police.

Detectives lifted the lid on the investigation that brought five men to justice for their role in the capture of Paul Gogan from Essex, as prosecutors said they are considering an appeal against the sentences handed down.

Mr Gogan, 42, originally from Co Meath in the Irish Republic, was allegedly threatened with a shotgun and told he would be killed or have his fingers cut off during his five-day ordeal inside a disused refrigerator container in a remote field in Northern Ireland.

Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray said the victim, who was held over a disputed debt, endured a “terrifying ordeal”.

Mr Gogan was finally released across the Irish border after a reduced ransom of 100,000 euro was paid by his family – money that has never been recovered.

Bound by cable ties, Mr Gogan was held in pitch dark, with no sanitation, surrounded by horse faeces and only dirty mattresses to lie on. He was given only limited food and water.

Scottish businessman Robert James Vevers, 60, from Crawick, Dumfries, and four men from Co Tyrone – Patrick Noel McCaul, 45, Matthew McClean, 28, Robert McClean, 23, and Martin Arkinson, 22, were all given suspended sentences last month after pleading guilty to various offences linked to the October 2012 kidnap.

Police images of the scene of the crime and a balaclava that was used.