Man released in missing loyalist inquiry

Alan McCullough has been missing since Wednesday

A 40-year-old man has been released without charge after police questioned him following the disappearance of a north Belfast man.

Alan McCullough, 21, whose disappearance is being linked to a loyalist paramilitary feud, was last seen leaving his home in the Shankill area of the city on Wednesday night.

Police say he may have been murdered.

The 40-year-old man, from north Belfast, was arrested on Saturday evening and released on Sunday night.

Mr McCullough had recently returned to Northern Ireland after fleeing from his home following a feud within the loyalist Ulster Defence Association earlier this year.

It is understood the missing man was linked to the faction led by jailed Shankill loyalist Johnny Adair.

Police investigating his disappearance ended their search of reservoir in the Waterworks Park in north Belfast on Saturday afternoon as nothing was found.

The police then turned their attention to a boat moored in Carrickfergus, County Antrim.

On Saturday, Detective Chief Inspector Will Kerr said they feared the worst.

"At this stage, we would have a belief that Alan may have been murdered," he said.

Shankill loyalist Johnny Adair was expelled from the UDA

A number of people who were arrested and questioned about serious crime, following searches in the greater Belfast area, were released without charge on Saturday.

The bloody feud within the UDA was linked to the deaths of four men at the beginning of the year.

Johnny Adair and his associate John White were expelled from the UDA leadership last September, causing a split in the organisation.

In February, family and associates of Adair fled their homes for Scotland.

Adair remains in prison after the Northern Ireland Secretary, Paul Murphy, revoked his early release licence in January for his involvement in "a litany of terrorist crimes".