Gardaí investigate alleged false imprisonment of teenager

A woman who says she was held against her will in a Dublin apartment and possibly drugged has been taken from the property by gardaí.

The alleged victim is aged 19 and from Hungary.

Gardaí went looking for her after she gained access to a mobile phone in the property in Tyrrelstown, west Dublin, and contacted her family in Hungary.

She supplied them with the name of the street she was on, which she was able to read from a sign visible from inside the apartment.

The information was relayed by her family to the police in Hungary and then to gardaí via Interpol.

A team of gardaí then went to the Tyrrelstown area on Tuesday.

They located the property and took the woman from it and into the care of the State.

The victim was said to be distressed but appeared to have no physical injuries.

A man in his 20s was also detained. He has since been questioned by gardaí on suspicion of false imprisonment and released without charge.

Investigation

The Garda investigation is ongoing and criminal charges may follow at a later date.

Gardaí working on the case believe the woman had travelled to the UK before coming to the State.

They are trying to establish if the case is linked to a scam in which Eastern European women marry African or Asian men they have never met before so that the men can secure a European passport.