IRA PROBE COPS IN HOUSE SWOOP
It follows Scot’s arrest at Heathrow
Sunday Mail
Gordon Blackstock A house was searched by police in Edinburgh yesterday as part of an i nves t i g at ion into dissident Irish republican group the New IRA.
The operation followed the arrest of a 62-year- old Scot at London’s Heathrow Airport.
Off icers seized the property on Telford Road in the capital’s Blackhall area.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland ( PSNI) is leading the investigation, which is part of Operation Arbacia.
The suspect was taken to Northern Ireland, where he was interviewed by officers last night.
Detective Chief Superintendent Philip Chapman, head of Police Scotland’s Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit, said: “This was a contained operation to
support the investigation by PSNI colleagues and I would like to reassure the public that there was no threat to the wider community.”
PSNI’s Assistant Chief Constable Barbara Gray added: “The man is in Musgrave serious crime suite where he is being questioned.”
The PSNI has made 10 arrests as part of the probe, with two men appearing in court in Belfast yesterday morning.
Shea Reynolds, 26, of Lurgan, and Patrick McDaid, 50, of Derry, appeared via videolink to be charged with membership of a proscribed organisation, directing terrorism and involvement in preparatory acts of terrorism.
Reynolds also faces a charge of conspiracy to possess explosives and ammunition with intent to endanger life. The court heard MI5 was involved in the investigation.
The New IRA has come under renewed investigation since the death of journalist Lyra McKee, 29, last year in Derry.