Japanese probe points to Al-Qaida links with Ireland

FRESH evidence about possible links between the al-Qaida terrorist network and Ireland have emerged from an investigation by police in Japan.

An inquiry into visits to Japan over the past two years by a Frenchman on Interpol’s most wanted list has identified a definite money link between him and Ireland.

Lionel Dumont, aged 33, an Islamic convert, had been on the run from international police forces since he escaped from a prison in Bosnia in 1999 where he was serving a 20-year jail sentence. He was finally arrested in the Germany city of Munich last December before his extradition back to France last week.