Gardaí have arrested a man in connection with the murder of Stephen Hanaphy, who was shot during a row at a house on October 29th, 2010.
The man in his early twenties was picked up as part of a planned operation by gardai from the Ardee and Dundalk districts of Co Louth.
This is the ninth arrest in relation to the murder of Mr Hanaphy. The arrest occurred at a house in the Dunleer area at approximately 7.30am. The man is currently being detained at Dundalk Garda Station under the provisions of Section 30 Offences Against the State Act 1939.
In a search of the man’s property, gardaí discovered cannabis plants with an estimated street value of €3,200. A further search of a commercial shed belonging to the man led to the discovery of around 600,000 cigarettes and 11,000 litres of alcohol.
Gardaí informed officers from Revenue’s Customs Service and investigators uncovered 11 intermediate bulk containers of pure alcohol, along with pumps and filtration equipment.
The alcohol had a potential loss to the Exchequer of around €416,000. The 600,000 ‘Brendal’ brand cigarettes had a retail value of €282,000 and a potential loss to the Exchequer of €211,000.