A man was arrested after a woman was abducted and driven some 300km across the country, sparking a nationwide hunt.
A major garda alert was sparked in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a witness reported seeing a woman in distress in a van in Arklow, Co Wicklow.
In a separate 999 call a member of the public reported they believed the woman who was a passenger in the van was in danger.
A description of the vehicle, a 181-D-39433 registered yellow Renault traffic van, was shared with garda stations across the country.
At around 11am the van was spotted heading north towards Dublin.
An appeal was made to the public to contact them if they spotted the van but members of the public were warned not to approach the vehicle.
By late Tuesday afternoon gardaí received a report that the vehicle was at a location in Co Mayo, some 300km from the first reported incident in Arklow.
Gardaí tracked down the van and intercepted it on the road. The woman, who is from the UK, was found safe and is currently being supported from An Garda Síochána.
The driver, an adult male, was arrested and is being held at a garda station in the county on suspicion of false imprisonment.
He can be questioned for a total of 24 hours before he must either be charged or released.
In a statement a garda spokesperson said: ‘An adult male has been arrested and is presently in custody at a garda station in the northwestern garda region.
‘An Garda Síochána would like to thank the public and media for their assistance.
‘No further information is available at this time.’
