NI Company Director hospitalised after being abducted, assaulted and dumped on roadside

Police say the man was abducted from his Derrylin home around 6.40pm yesterday "and was seriously assaulted before being left at the side of the road at Drumcoughill, Cornafean, County Cavan. He was discovered by local residents just before 9pm and was brought to hospital with serious injuries to his face and leg".

Detective Inspector Trevor Stevenson added: "This was a horrific attack and we are liaising with our colleagues at An Garda Síochána.“Our inquiries are at a very early stage and at this time, I am appealing for anyone who may have witnessed a black saloon Audi being driven in the Derrylin, Fermanagh / Swanlinbar, Cavan areas to contact us or our Gardaí colleagues.”Anyone with any information that may assist us with our inquiries should contact us on 101, quoting reference number 1748 of 17/09/19.Alternatively if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111 which is 100% anonymous and gives people the power to speak up and stop crime.

A statement released by Quinn Industrial Holdings reveals the man assaulted is their Director.

The statement said: "Quinn Industrial Holdings’ (QIH) confirms that Mr Kevin Lunney, Director and Chief Operating Officer, QIH has been hospitalised following his abduction and a vicious assault that occurred last evening.

"The PSNI are investigating the incident which occurred as Mr Lunney was returning to his family home in Kinawley, Co Fermanagh from his workplace in nearby Derrylin."Mr Lunney’s and an unknown car were found ablaze in a road near his family home shortly before 7.00pm last evening.

"Some hours later Mr Lunney was found badly beaten across the border in Cornafean, Co Cavan after he was dumped at the side of a road by his attackers.

"Mr Lunney sustained a broken leg and range of other very severe, but non life threatening injuries for which he is being treated in a nearby hospital." Adrian Barden, Chairman, QIH said: “Kevin Lunney’s abduction and assault is an outrageous attack on a hard working father of six children but also on his 830 colleagues at QIH and the wider community in the Cavan-Fermanagh region.

"For several hours last evening Kevin’s wife, family and very many friends were left to contemplate the worst.

"Like many of his colleagues I am frustrated and angry that more has not been done to protect Kevin who will require some considerable time to recover from the very severe injuries sustained in this brutal attack “We have previously warned of the inevitability of serious injury and loss of life arising from these sustained and increasingly serious criminal attacks. We find it inexplicable that not a single arrest has been made north or south despite dozens of incidents.

"We are now calling for the police authorities north and south to act quickly and decisively to prevent an inevitable loss of life by bringing those responsible to justice.”