Man arrested in connection with theft of paintings

A man has been arrested by gardaí in connection with the theft of paintings and other items belonging to the Department of Arts Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

They were taken from a private storage facility in Co Kildare in October of last year.

The man, aged in his early 40s, was detained this morning in the Shannon area by gardaí assisted by members from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and gardaí from Naas.

He has been taken to Shannon Garda Station where he is being questioned under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act.

Further planned searches are being carried out in the Limerick area.