Kevin McGeever: Irish property tycoon arrested on suspicion of wasting police time Kevin McGeever, 68, questioned for 24 hours over kidnapping allegations He was found wandering barefoot on road in Co Leitrim, Ireland in January Police were told Russian gangsters and IRA kidnapped and tortured him An Irish property developer who was allegedly kidnapped for eight months has been released from police custody. Kevin McGeever who claimed he was kidnapped and tortured by Russian gangsters and the IRA last year, was questioned for 24 hours on suspicion of wasting garda time. He was arrested at his Craughwell home in Co Galway yesterday and held at Gort Garda Station, the same station where he was reported missing by his partner last June. 'Tortured': Kevin McGeever, pictured at a gala dinner in Castlebar, Ireland, claimed he was kidnapped by Russian gangsters and the IRA He was been held under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act 1994, which contains provisions for wasting garda time and making false allegations. McGeever claimed he was abducted at gunpoint from his gated mansion on May 17 2012. He had been reported missing by his partner Siobhán O'Callaghan last June. McGeever, who is originally from Swinford, Co Mayo, had a long beard, hair and nails and was treated for malnutrition when he was found by a motorist in a dishevelled state. Eight months later on ­January 29, Catherine Vallely, a former Sinn Féin candidate, and her partner, Peter Rehill, found McGeever wandering barefoot, emaciated and disorientated on a remote road near the Cavan-Leitrim border on January 29 this year. Disorientated: Catherine Vallely picked up a bedraggled Mr McGeever when she saw him wandering barefoot on the road Mrs Vallely said: "He had a pair of enormous eyes in a very thin face and his cheek-bones stuck out. He was rubbing his beard with fingers that had long nails. When he got into the car he said he had no shoes on. I said he could have been killed in the middle of the road, and he said three men had just thrown him out of a van. I thought he might have Alzheimer's disease or something like that. The man said his name was Kevin and he didn't realise he was in County Leitrim. He didn't even know the month, the day or the time. Miss Vallely said she gave him a lift because, "there are hippy campers and a Buddhist centre in [nearby] Ballinamore and I sometimes pick them up." He wore red trousers and had plastic sheeting wrapped around his shoulders. His white hair was wild and long, his beard halfway down his chest and his 3in-long nails were curved and discoloured. He was down to eight stone, from around 14 stone. The word "thief" - misspelt "tief" - was etched across his forehead, apparently with a penknife. An Irish property developer during the country's economic boom, McGeever, claimed he was imprisoned in a cargo container for months - because he owed the criminal gangs money. He claimed to have been held captive by kidnappers who never sought a ransom. Three men, he said, had thrown him from a van onto this remote road. A Garda spokesman confirmed a 68-year-old man was arrested in relation to the ongoing investigation into the abduction and said that a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Successful: Mr McGeever's home, 'Nirvana', in Craughwell, Galway. He is understood to have owned properties in Dubai during Ireland's boom years During the economic boom in Ireland - the era of the so-called Celtic Tiger economy from 1995 to 2007 - McGeever sold luxury homes in Dubai to wealthy clients, including some from Britain. He also owned one of Ireland's biggest mansions, a £3million property which was nicknamed Nirvana by locals in the west of the country and is surrounded by immaculate lawns. He drove a Porsche and travelled in a helicopter which had his initials KMM emblazoned across it.