Former IRA man arrested at US airport

A MAN once jailed for his involvement with the IRA was arrested at a US airport after he denied ever being involved in terrorist activities, US authorities said.

Joseph Black, aged 46, who served a three-year prison sentence in the North in the late 1970s, was detained by US immigration officials on Wednesday following his arrival on a flight at Philadelphia International Airport.

He appeared before a magistrate in the city yesterday charged with making false statements on an immigration form and was ordered held until a court hearing later this month. Prosecutors said Black’s offence was a pair of incorrect answers on a standard customs form given to short-term visitors to the US.

During the interview, Black said he had been arrested in Ireland in 1977 for shooting someone in the knee and for being a member of the IRA. He served three years and is no longer a member of the IRA.