AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after a gang raided the home of model Lisa Murphy and her partner solicitor Gerald Kean yesterday evening, escaping from the scene with jewellery worth a “substantial” amount.

Kean told RTÉ’s Liveline today that as Murphy was walking into her home yesterday evening, having just turned off the alarm, four masked men rushed in after her.

Throwing her to the ground, they bound her hands behind her back and threatened her with a knife to tell them where her jewellery was and to provide the code for the safe. She was tied up for about two hours before Kean, concerned because he couldn’t reach Murphy by phone, went home to check on her.

“I was surprised there were no lights on” when he arrived at the house, he said. When he went in the back door, he heard her screaming and found her tied up upstairs.

There was no insurance on the items, Kean said, because the couple was in the process of building and were organising their insurance. He said the jewellery was worth a “substantial” amount, well over €100,000.

Gardaí are appealing to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Three Mile Water area of Brittas Bay, Co Wicklow, last night between 7pm and 9pm to contact them on 0404 60140 or via the Garda Confidential Line: 1800 666 111. They are also appealing for information on any suspicious activity in this area in the week before the robbery.