BREAKING: More arrests in Lunney investigation

 

A third and a fourth person has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the kidnapping and torture of Quinn Industrial Holdings Director Kevin Lunney, The Anglo-Celt can confirm.

The arrests occurred this afternoon, and follows that of two men aged in their late 30's, and arrested in the Dublin area earlier this morning.

Those two men are currently being questioned at Ballymun and Finglas garda stations respectively.

The two latest arrests include a male, aged 25 years, arrested in the Dublin Region for an offence contrary to Section 73 Criminal Justice Act 2006.

The other is a male, aged 66 years, arrested in Co Cavan for an offence contrary to Section 72 Criminal Justice Act 2006.

All four are being detained under Section 50 Criminal Justice Act 2007.

Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 applies to detention in connection with the following offences: Murder involving the use of a firearm or explosive.

A spokesperson for An Garda Siochana confirmed in a statement: “A male, aged 25 years, has been arrested in the Dublin Region for an offence contrary to Section 73 Criminal Justice Act 2006 and is being detained under Section 50 Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Irishtown Garda station.

“A male, aged 66 years, has been arrested in County Cavan for an offence contrary to Section 72 Criminal Justice Act 2006 and is being detained under Section 50 Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Monaghan Garda stations.”

They had earlier provided details in relation to the two morning arrests, saying: 'Two males, both aged 38 years, have been arrested in the Dublin Region for an offence contrary to Section 73 Criminal Justice Act 2006 and are being detained under Section 50 Criminal Justice Act 2007 at Ballymun & Finglas Garda stations'.
It brings to seven the number of people arrested and detained for questioning in relation to the abduction of Mr Lunney from outside his home on September 17 last.

The 50-year-old father of six was later discovered badly injured on a rural roadside in Cornafean. He had been tortured for several hours, branded by his attackers, an doused in bleach.
A little over a week ago two other men and a woman were arrested but later released from Garda custody without charge with a file pending for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

The two males were aged in their 20s and 40s respectively, and were detained under section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2007.

The female, aged in her fifties, was held for questioning under Section 30 of Offences Against The State Act, 1939, which pertains to the alleged withholding of certain information.

Other searches have also been carried out at both residential and commercial properties in Cavan, Longford and Dublin areas in the recent past.

It follows the establishment of a joint team protocol to investigate a campaign of intimidation, including death threats, targeting QIH directors.

That led to gardai, along with police in Northern Ireland and Derbyshire Constabulary, searching a total of 13 properties across the UK and Ireland. They searched a mix of domestic dwellings and business premises in five locations in Co Cavan, three locations in Co Longford, and four locations in Dublin. In the UK, the PSNI searched five locations in Northern Ireland, with the Derbyshire Constabulary swooping on a house in near Buxton.

Over 100 members of An Garda Siochana were involved in the raids, which were in part coordinated from Cavan Garda Station. It included members from the Cavan/Monaghan Garda Division, Regional Support Units, National Support Service (NSS) Dog Units, National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NBCI), Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (DOCB) and National Public Order Unit.

An Garda Síochána is continuing to appeal to anyone who may have any information to contact them at Cavan Garda Station 049 4368800, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111, or Crime Stoppers on 1800 25 00 25 or any Garda Station.