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An Irish property developer, who went missing for eight months, has told police he was kidnapped and tortured by the Russian mafia.

Kevin McGeever, 68, was found wandering, lost and emaciated on a remote country road near the border with Northern Ireland, apparently with the word “thief” carved across his forehead.

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He was barefoot and covered in a plastic bag, but was carrying a cellphone and a flashlight.

The man is now recovering from his ordeal in hospital in Mullingar, County Westmeath, after being found by motorists on the remote road this week.

He said the kidnappers, whom he linked to the Russian mafia and the Irish Republican Army, had held him in a “darkened container,” according to the Irish Daily Mail.

They demanded a ransom for his safe release, he said, but did not know whether any money had been paid.

The millionaire was dishevelled, with a long beard and long nails, and had lost about 30 kilograms in weight when he was found.