The body of a Co Donegal cattle dealer is to be exhumed by detectives conducting an ongoing investigation which is linked to allegations of Garda corruption, a Garda spokesman said today.
Mr Richard Barron (54) died in what was initially considered a hit-and-run incident in October 1996 but gardaí later launched a murder investigation.
That investigation came under the scrutiny of an internal police inquiry set up in April 1999 and headed by Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty to investigate alleged irregularities in the Donegal division.
A Garda spokesman said: "The body of Richard Barron is to be exhumed from his grave in Raphoe, Co Donegal, tomorrow as part of an ongoing investigation.
"A post-mortem examination will be conducted on the remains and it is expected the body will be re-interred later that day."
The ongoing Carty inquiry produced a report last July which is with the director of public prosecutions.
The complex inquiry is understood to centre around the Barron murder investigation, along with the alleged splitting-up of arms finds and the movement of a hoax bomb across the border.
Last month, a Garda sergeant was charged with possessing an illegal firearm, becoming the first Garda in the Donegal division to face legal proceedings as a result of the investigation.
A number of gardaí have faced police disciplinary action, while four Donegal men have been charged with making false statements to police and wasting police time between November 1996 and July 1997 after evidence emerged from the Carty inquiry.
PA