An Irish man who was the victim of an "express kidnapping" in Tanzania has said he is going to pursue counselling after assailants stole his camera, wallet and €3,000 from his bank accounts.
Cork native Dan MacCarthy, who has since returned safely to Ireland, was travelling alone when he was abducted and threatened with death by a bogus taxi man in Dar es Salaam.
Speaking to RTÉ's Drivetime, Mr MacCarthy said that he had been approached by the taxi man the day before the incident, which occurred last week.
"I had got a taxi driver the previous day on the street who approached me. I wasn't thinking that he could be a criminal under the guise of a friendly face, but he was," he said.
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"We drove 100 metres, he jumped out and three very big guys jumped in the back seat, pinned on my wrists and said, 'Give us your password for the bank cards or we'll kill you.’
"I actually started shaking, but my brain hadn't yet computed that it was a robbery. I was very uncomfortable ... they said, ‘hand us over your passport, your phone, bank cards and the wallet.
The group then took $160 (€137) and some local currency off Mr MacCarthy.
Mr MacCarthy said he noticed something was off when the taxi man turned up in a different car than the day before, with another person along with him.
"I didn't like that ... I don't know the model, but the car I saw the day before was grey and this was black. I was thinking the guy's just brought along his brother-in-law or something.
"He pre-empted me by saying, ‘oh, look, don't worry, we have an extra driver today because things can be very dangerous in the early morning in Dar es Salaam, all sorts of hijackings happen'.
"That was really rubbing my nose in it because he then turned out to be that bad person," he added.
Mr MacCarthy said that the three men kept telling him to be quiet, before starting to argue furiously among themselves.
He said that they were not armed, but that he "would not have stood a chance against one of them, let alone five of them".
Mr MacCarthy said they took €150 from his Revolut, before making him download a money transfer app and make an account, in order to take more money from his bank accounts.
"He then forced me to create a profile, a password, remember the password, and the five digit code, whatever it was, home address, and then he put in his details.
"Then he took a photograph of my passport, and the thing proceeded, and it worked," he recalled.
"About two hours had passed by now, and he seemed content with getting €3,000 from my two accounts."
He said that they also went through his bags in search of money, and threatened to kill him if he was hiding more money from them.
"I said there's nothing and then he found nothing, but he got my computer, new camera and other bits and pieces," he said.
"He took my shoes as well just for good measure."
Mr MacCarthy said the thieves let him go after holding him for about two hours, and gave him back some of his belongings before telling him to go to the airport.
"The door opened, he turned around to me, he gave me back my passport, my bank cards and my library card in Cork, and then he gave me 40,000 (in local currency), which is €16 euro.
"He said, ‘You go to airport now’, with the passport. I couldn’t believe that was happening," he said.
"One of them got out and walked about 50 metres with me, helped me with my rucksack onto my back and shook hands with me, as if to say, ‘nice doing business with you, do call again.’
"If it was a sketch in a movie, you’d have said it’s too far-fetched."
Mr MacCarthy said he was not sure if the ordeal was over or not.
"I was wondering, is this part of their technique? I was kind of half thinking, am I going to get a blow to the back of the head as I walked away?" he said.
"I tried to remember to get their reg number and I forgot, because I was just so elated to get out of the car."
Mr MacCarthy was dropped in a shanty town, and made his way to the police and the Irish embassy.
"They (the police) were very good, listened to the story. I filled out a four-page statement with them and from there, went to the Irish Embassy," he said.
Mr MacCarthy said the police assisted him in getting a ticket home.
"Even though I had another month to travel, I just had to go because my phone was gone. I didn't know what else was gone," he said.
Mr MacCarthy was told at the embassy that "express kidnappings" are extremely common in Dar es Salaam.
"The Irish embassy told me they've pounced on two French girls, a Canadian guy, Spaniards, Swiss, others. They're roaming up and down the highway between the city centre and the airport.
"I was advised to get my new taxi to the airport to come home with blacked out windows, because if they see you, you're a ‘Muzungu’, a Swahili word for white person, and you equate to lots of money."
Mr MacCarthy said he was going to pursue counselling to overcome what happened to him.
"I've been advised to take counselling for it, and I'll probably pursue that," he said.
"I feel perfectly fine now. I'm sleeping very well, eating well, back to my usual routine and that's it. But I will chase that up."
Despite all that happened to him, Mr MacCarthy said he would like to return to Tanzania.
"I would go back to Tanzania. I loved the country," he said.
"The Kilimanjaro area is beautiful ... the safaris were fantastic, incredible animals, and Zanzibar was a beautiful island, snorkeling and all of that. It’s just a beautiful place.
"But Dar es Salaam? Nah, I don't think so. I’ll give that a skip," he added.
