DETECTIVES WERE questioning a 57-year-old man in Antrim last night about the murder of British army captain, Robert Nairac who was shot dead by the IRA in Co Louth in 1977, but whose body was never recovered.
Capt Nairac, who was abducted from a south Armagh pub and murdered across the Border 31 years ago this month, was a controversial intelligence officer who allegedly colluded with loyalist paramilitaries and supplied information to republicans.
Six people were convicted in connection with the murder of the 29-year-old member of the Grenadier Guards while police believe that three others were also involved in his killing.
The murder of Capt Nairac is one of the key cases that the Historical Enquiries Team (Het) is investigating. The Het, which is examining some 2,000 unsolved murders of the troubles in co-operation with the PSNI, is understood to be considering seeking the extradition of two of the remaining murder suspects from the United States.
The investigation was also focusing on a third individual who was believed to be living in south Armagh under an assumed name, according to security sources.
Detectives from the PSNI's crime operations department arrested the suspect in south Armagh early yesterday.
Capt Nairac was viewed as a dashing and intriguing figure whose life and operations feature in a number of books, both fact and fiction. From a privileged background he was educated at the Catholic public school, Ampleforth and later at Oxford.
He was abducted from the Three Steps Inn at Drumintee, near Forkhill on May 14th, 1977, after engaging with locals and singing a number of republican songs. One republican source claimed that suspicions initially were raised because at least one of the songs he sang was associated with the "Official" IRA, which did not operate in south Armagh, rather than the "Provisional" IRA, which did and which was opposed to the "Officials".
His gun was seized during a struggle outside the pub. Capt Nairac was interrogated and beaten both at the scene and later across the Border at Ravensdale, where he was shot. One of his abductors pretended to be a priest in order to hear his "confession". He didn't break under this pressure, asserting that he was a Belfast republican before he was shot.
His body was never recovered and he is listed as one of the "disappeared". One report suggested that his body was disposed of at a meat processing plant in Co Louth.
In British army circles he was considered a courageous officer, gaining a posthumous George Cross. But in Northern Ireland he cut a more complicated, controversial and mysterious figure.
Unproven claims against him include that he colluded with some the most notorious loyalist killers in mid-Ulster, including Robin Jackson, nicknamed the Jackal, and that he may have been implicated in the killings of members of the Miami Showband and in the Dublin-Monaghan bombings.
Conversely, it was also claimed that he helped provide explosives to the IRA.
