Gardaí question man over importation of arms

GARDAÍ in Limerick were last night questioning a man in his 30s suspected of being a member of the Continuity IRA.

He’s being detained at Henry Street Station under Section 30 and is also being questioned about alleged importation of arms and feud related criminal activities in Limerick.

The man was arrested in the Ballinacurra, Weston area of the city at about 1.30pm. The arrest is part of the ongoing investigation by Gardaí into the activities of dissident republicans in the city.

This latest development follows the arrest of three English men in Lanchashire last Sunday amid reports that one of the suspects has connections in Limerick. The men are being questioned by the anti-terrorist branch of the metropolitan police in London, after two handguns and a rifle were found in their possession in Morecombe.

The arrests are part of the ongoing operation between the Gardaí and English police into the activities of dissident republicans and criminal activity in Limerick.

Meanwhile, almost $1 million raised by Sinn Féin in the US may be banned from use in the North.

Since ethics legislation was introduced in 2001, political parties like Sinn Féin cannot use donations from foreign citizens or companies to fund their activities in the Republic.

The Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) has written to Sinn Féin asking the party to provide details of any foreign donations.

The Commission is awaiting a response before deciding on its course of action.

However, under the Electoral Acts, the organisations prohibited from receiving foreign donations include subsidiary bodies. If SIPO decides that this covers Sinn Féin’s activities in the North, the party will be cut off from its most lucrative source of revenue.

Sinn Féin raised $295,000 in the US last year through Friends of Sinn Féin. This organisation also received almost $700,000 in the six months up to the end of April, according to returns provided to the US Justice Department in Washington. Sinn Féin believes it is free to use the money for election expenses in the North.