A German man wanted in Frankfurt for the murder of his two sons was arrested in Killarney last night, writes Derek Scally in Berlin and Edward Power.
The 43-year-old, of Indian extraction, entered the State earlier this week requesting asylum.
German police are seeking him in connection with the killing of his sons, aged four and five, who were found floating in Frankfurt's Main river on July 24th. The children had been bound together with a belt before being thrown in the water. Police suspect they had been poisoned. The boys had spent the previous weekend with their father, who was separated from their mother
Officers from the Phoenix Park-based crime and security division detained the man at a guest house on the outskirts of Killarney shortly after 5 p.m.
He will be transferred to Dublin today and is due to appear before a special sitting of the High Court this afternoon on foot of an extradition warrant.
Detectives were alerted to the suspect's presence in Ireland when his description matched an alert released last week by Interpol.
The man was located in Killarney where he was staying in temporary health board accommodation for the past two nights. He was presented with an arrest warrant and was taken to the local garda station.
Last night Frankfurt police confirmed they had issued a warrant for his arrest.
The killings were the latest in a series of child murders in Germany and have prompted public outrage.