In the first of three episodes, Charlie Bird tells the sensational story of an attempt to extort five million pounds from the Irish government in 1979 by threatening to unleash an epidemic of Foot & Mouth Disease.

Extortionists used personal ads in £5m ransom demand over foot-and-mouth disease

The typed letter that arrived into the offices of the Department of Agriculture on Kildare Street in Dublin, addressed to the minister, was clear and to the point: “To get straight to the point, this is a demand for £5 million.

“The reason for you paying us £5 million is very simple. If you do this, we shall not introduce to this country one of the most deadly and costliest diseases that could afflict any country, in particular an agricultural country, namely foot and mouth disease.”

The letter was the opening salvo in an extortion demand that was taken extremely seriously at the time, and which has never been publicly disclosed before. Over the seven months following the letter’s receipt, communication between the State and the criminals proceeded by way of letters, a telephone call, and notices in the social and personal columns of Saturday editions of The Irish Times.

See link below - article appeared in the Irish Times

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/extortionists-used-personal-ads-in-5m-ransom-demand-over-foot-and-mouth-disease-1.4584576