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Police forensics officers search a building on the outskirts of Coalisland Co Tyrone after making a discovery of an arms cache. Niall Carson/PA Wire/Press Association Images
Ronan Kerr
PSNI continue to hold man in connection with arms discovery following Ronan Kerr murder
Police say the man is being held as part of the inquiry into the murder of Kerr last Saturday.
A MAN CONTINUES TO be held by police investigating the murder of police constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh last weekend.
The 26-year-old man was detained in Scotland yesterday by Strathclyde Police after the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) made one of the most significant arms discoveries in recent years and requested the man’s arrest.
Kalashnikov rifles, rocket launcher components, detonators, and possible Semtex explosive were amongst the items discovered in Coalisland, east Tyrone, according to the PSNI.
A spokesperson for the PSNI confirmed to TheJournal.ie this morning that the arrested man arrived in Northern Ireland last night after being arrested in Dumbartonshire.
The man can be held for “another couple of days”, according to the spokesperson.
He is being held specifically in relation to the arms discovery but police said yesterday this “will form lines of inquiry into Ronan’s murder and into terrorist activity in general.”
The Catholic police constable Kerr, 25, was laid to rest in Co Tyrone yesterday with Taoiseach Enda Kenny amongst those attending the emotional service.
Kerr, who had recently joined the force, died on Saturday when a booby trap bomb exploded under his car in Highfield Close, Omagh, Co Tyrone.
His murder has been blamed on dissident Republicans who are opposed to the peace process and the bomb is believed to have been aimed at deterring Catholics from joining the police service.
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