PSNI reveals arrests were part of sting

The PSNI has revealed that three arrests made in Belfast yesterday were the result of a "sting" operation.

The police say they are tightening the net on loyalist paramilitaries with a total of 12 people taken into custody over the past 48 hours.

Three men were arrested in Belfast city centre yesterday afternoon. The police say they are being held as part of a probe into senior members of the UDA.

They say the arrests came after police officers posed as building contractors and were approached by the loyalists seeking to extort protection money running into tens of thousands of pounds.

Overnight, the police arrested eight men in Craigantlet, north Co Down. They also recovered a pistol, a shotgun, gloves, a crowbar and balaclavas.

The assistant chief constable for Belfast, Alan McQuillan, said the men in custody were linked to the UVF.