Two men arrested yesterday by the police in Northern Ireland, in connection with investigations into a raid on the Castlereagh Intelligence centre last week, have been released. The men were released without charge but three men and a woman remain in custody.
Sinn Féin condemned the arrests as "highly provocative", as they came on the eve of a series of rallies marking the 86th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising. The arrests were made when houses in west, north and east Belfast and Derry were raided early yesterday.
Three men, one of whom is said to have had an English accent, entered the Special Branch office in the base.
They are said to have assaulted, hooded, and tied up an officer before rifling through drawers and filing cabinets for up to 20 minutes.
They are reported to have taken a bundle of documents. The office would not easily be found so it is likely those involved had intimate knowledge of its location. The men would have to produce some form of identification to pass guards and also know special codes to unlock corridor doors to reach the room.
West Belfast Sinn Féin MLA member Mr Alex Maskey yesterday called for a public inquiry into the raid which initially was blamed on British Intelligence. He said the arrests and raids were "ridiculous" and "highly-provocative".