Three more held in Quinn murder case

THREE MEN were arrested early yesterday in south Armagh in connection with last October's murder of 21-year-old Paul Quinn.

The arrests bring to nine those held since the "targeted operation" began early on Tuesday morning, led by the Garda with the support of the PSNI.

There are seven in custody, three in the Republic and four at Antrim PSNI station. Two of the three arrested in south Armagh on Tuesday morning were released. They are in their 50s.

Two of the men arrested by the PSNI in south Armagh yesterday, at the request of the Garda, are in their 30s with the third man in his 40s. A number of items were seized during the operation.

The family of 21-year-old Paul Quinn from Cullyhanna, beaten to death by a masked gang in a Co Monaghan barn in October, have welcomed this week's development, believing it marks progress in the investigation. The family continues to believe that IRA members were involved in the murder - a charge which Sinn Féin denies.

The three arrested by gardaí in the Monaghan area on Tuesday morning were detained for an extra 24 hours.

The men, two with addresses in Monaghan and the third with an Armagh address, made submissions opposing their continuing detention.

Garda Supt Karl Heller said further detention was necessary because of the "very extensive" nature of the investigation. He said several hundred statements were taken and over 1,500 inquiries made in the investigation. Results also were pending of analysis on a number of exhibits recovered by gardaí this week.