An employee of An Post, his partner and their child were held hostage during a so-called tiger robbery in Co Louth last night.
A gang of men, at least one of whom was believed to be armed, broke into the family’s home in the Forest Park housing estate in Drogheda.
They were held at the house for a number of hours before being taken to another undisclosed location.
The man was forced to go to the post office at West Street in Drogheda and take out a sum of money, which he then handed over to the gang. It is believed the amount of money involved could be as much as €500,000.
The man's partner and child were released unharmed at Damastown in west Dublin at about 1pm.
During the morning, gardaí became aware of the incident, and a response team was put in place involving both local and national units.
In a statement, Minister for Justice Alan Shatter said he “deplores” the incident.
“This is one of the most vicious forms of crime and our sympathies go out to the victims,” he said. “Based on initial information I have received, I have asked the Garda authorities to let me have a detailed report on the circumstances surrounding the incident, including, in particular, whether agreed procedures for dealing with this sort of incident were followed.”
Gardaí appealed to the public for information on any suspicious activity during the course of the incident, particularly in Forest Park housing estate from yesterday evening to noon, around the post office at West Street from early this morning, and in Damastown from 11am and 1.30pm.
They also want to know more about a silver Opel Corsa car which was discovered burnt out in the Summerseat Housing Estate in Clonee at about 11.30am.
Gardaí have set up an incident room at Drogheda Garda station. Anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí on 041 9838777 or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.