Further arrests over Quinn murder

Paul Quinn was beaten to death in October 2007

Police investigating the murder of south Armagh man Paul Quinn have arrested three men.

The men, two of whom are in their 30s and one in his 40s, are from the Crossmaglen and Forkhill areas. Police said a number of items were seized.

Mr Quinn, 21, was beaten to death at farm buildings near Castleblayney in County Monaghan last October.

Meanwhile, police in the Republic have been given another 24 hours to question three men arrested earlier this week.

The men, aged 22, 24 and 36, were arrested in County Monaghan.

Two men in their 50s arrested in south Armagh by the PSNI on Tuesday have been released. Another man in his 20s remains in custody.

Thursday's arrests were made on the request of the Garda, a PSNI spokesman said.

Extension

The 24-hour extension given to the Garda was granted at a special sitting of the district court in Carrickmacross on Wednesday night.

Two of the men have addresses in Monaghan, the third in County Armagh.

At the hearing, all three made submissions opposing their further detention.

However, Garda Superintendent Karl Heller described the investigation into the murder as "very extensive", with several hundred statements taken and over 1,500 inquiries made, and said further detention was necessary.

He said results were pending within the next 24 hours of analysis on a number of exhibits recovered by Garda investigators.

Judge Sean MacBride said he was satisfied the extension of the detention period was reasonable.