Yesterday, bingo played a prominent role in Northern Ireland's conflicted landscape. “Troubles” of another sort occurred last night as a teenager was abducted and held for ransom. A relative of the 18-year-old kidnapping victim, who is an orphan, was contacted by members of a gang and instructed to drive over to a bingo hall to retrieve ransom money from a safe there.

The victim's relative took over £1,000 from the bingo hall safe and drove it to a pre-arranged drop-off point. Although the victim was released soon afterwards, the gang escaped with the bingo loot and has not yet been tracked by authorities. Luckily for the victim, a loaded safe of bingo bounty was close by to provide enough funds for his quick rescue.