Kidnap victim ‘feared he would never see his baby again’

A postal worker has described how he believed he would never see his partner and baby again during a kidnapping and robbery in Co Louth.

On Thursday, Warren Nawn told a jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court how he was tied up and beaten before being sent to collect €600,000 from his An Post branch in Drogheda while his then partner, now his wife, and baby were held by armed raiders.

During his evidence, Mr Nawn said he had believed he would never see his family again when he thought he was about to be stopped by a Garda car on the way to pick up the money.

He said the raiders had repeatedly threatened to kill his family if anything went wrong during the operation and at one point his partner, Jean Marie Nawn, was threatened with rape.

It is the State's case that Jonathan Gill (35) was one of a group of five who were involved in holding the family hostage in their home before moving them to a farmyard about a 90-minute drive away.

Mr Gill, of Malahide Road, Swords, Co Dublin, has pleaded not guilty at the court to falsely imprisoning Mr Nawn, Ms Nawn and their baby between August 1st and 2nd, 2011.

He has also pleaded not guilty to the robbery of €661,125 from An Post, West Street, Drogheda, on August 2nd, 2011.

Mr Nawn told Vincent Heneghan SC, prosecuting, that he was having a relaxing day off on August 1st and was watching television when he opened his door to a man holding a pizza box and covering his face with a scarf.

The man had a gun and ordered Mr Nawn to the ground before bringing him inside.

Another man then arrived. They wrapped masking tape around Mr Nawn’s eyes, hands and mouth and started asking him about his work in An Post.

One raider said: “A mad bastard, madder than me, is coming and he would have no problem raping her”, in reference to Ms Nawn.

He also told Mr Nawn to “remember the baby they found by the river in Mayo”.

Another man, who Mr Nawn described as “the bossman”, subsequently arrived and continued to question him.

This man threatened to put a bullet in the back of Mr Nawn’s head if he was lying.

The family was then driven to a farmyard, where they were held overnight.

The “bossman” gave Mr Nawn detailed instructions about how he should go in to work in the morning and wait for a cash van delivery before bringing that money to the LMFM studio car park.

Mr Nawn told counsel it was clear that the “bossman” had very detailed knowledge about where he worked but did not seem to know the names of the streets and bridges in Drogheda.

Work uniform

Mr Nawn said that, in the morning, the raiders put his work uniform on him and drove him to Drogheda.

As Mr Nawn was leaving, Ms Nawn told him to do what they said.

He replied that he would do whatever it took to keep them safe.

After he was dropped off, Mr Nawn drove to work while in phone contact with the raiders.

He said he was speeding, overtaking traffic and breaking traffic lights and that he became very concerned when he saw a Garda car with its lights on.

He said he thought he would be stopped by gardaí and would never see his family again.

However, he was able to continue to work, where he told his manager about the kidnapping, as instructed by the raiders.

He said he filled two large bags with money and drove towards the meeting point.

He was told to drive to an overpass and throw the money over the side.

After he did so, he was told he had thrown the money at the wrong place and was instructed to retrieve it.

Mr Nawn climbed into some briars to get the cash, but was then told to leave it.

He said he was then told to drive to the Boyne Cable Bridge and break up the phone he had been given by the kidnappers before throwing it in the river.

Having done this, he returned to work , where gardaí had been called.

He said he refused to speak to officers because he was still concerned about his family’s safety, but began co-operating when it was confirmed they were safe.

The trial continues.