Three questioned in gardai corruption probe

Three members of the Garda Siochana were being questioned today by detectives involved in a corruption probe.

The three – a sergeant and two gardai members of the force were held in Co Donegal at around breakfast time this morning by a team investigating allegations of corrupt practices by the force in the county.

It was understood the men were being questioned about alleged false reports and wasting police time.

They were detained in different parts of Co Donegal under Section four of the Criminal Justice Act , permitting them to be kept in custody for up to six hours before extensions to that period are sought, and all three were being interviewed at Letterkenny police headquarters.

The corruption inquiry, headed by Garda Assistant Commissioner Kevin Carty, was set up in 1999 to investigate a number of serious matters, including claims by the McBrearty family, of Co Donegal, about harassment and corruption on the part of Donegal police.

At one point, the McBrearty family had 160 charges levelled against them for alleged licensing offences, but all were subsequently withdrawn.

Other matters being examined include the handling of the investigation into the death of cattle dealer Mr Richie Barron, who was found dead by the side of a Co Donegal road in 1996 with head wounds.

A murder inquiry was opened and Frank McBrearty, junior, and other members of his family were arrested and questioned, but no member of the family was charged in connection with Mr Barron’s death.

There have also been claims that explosives were stolen from garda care and re-hidden in caches, one across the border with Northern Ireland, so that certain officers would get credit for the finds.

Today’s arrest brought to six the number of arrests made by the Carty investigators. So far just one person has been charged in court, Sergeant John White, of Ballybofey, Co Donegal, who was accused of unlawfully possessing a firearm and giving false statements to police.

The Do Donegal gardai corruption allegations are also being investigated by a tribunal of inquiry headed by former High Court judge Mr Justice Frederick Morris.