Three men from Co Louth are being held by police in Slovakia in connection with a suspected plot to buy weapons for the "Real IRA". They were held under warrants from British police under the UK Prevention of Terrorism Act.
Their extradition to the UK is sought under four warrants: membership of a proscribed organisation; fund-raising for the purpose of terrorism; seeking to enter into arrangements for the purposes of terrorism; and conspiracy charges.
It is the second time members of the "Real" or Continuity IRA have been detected attempting to acquire weapons in eastern Europe. Last August police in Croatia seized an arms shipment which was on its way to the Republic.
Arms from the former Eastern Bloc countries have reached the "Real IRA" in the past two years. The weapons include modern Russian-manufactured rocket-propelled missiles (RPG18 and RPG-22), rifles, handguns, plastic explosive and detonators. A cache of these weapons was found on a farm in Co Meath in October 1999.
Few details about the operation which led to the arrests in the town of Pistini, in Slovakia, were available yesterday.
However, it is known that authorities in Slovakia, the Czech Republic and other eastern European countries seeking membership of the EU have stepped up their efforts against illegal arms and drug-trafficking.
There has been greater co-operation with EU police forces who are worried about the spread of crime and trafficking in arms, drugs and human beings from the east.
The Israeli authorities recently expressed concern at the level of arms-dealing from eastern European countries after they intercepted a shipload of weapons on its way to Palestinian groups in Gaza.
The UK has issued warrants for the extradition of the three, which means they could face trial in London or Belfast. They are being held in prison in Slovakia after a 40-day detention order was passed.
The Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, welcomed the capture of the three suspects, describing it as "a carefully co-ordinated operation".
The Lagan Valley MP, who will be part of his party's talks team at the negotiations in Shropshire next week, said it was further evidence of the need for the decommissioning of all terrorist weapons.