THE RUC was last night still questioning three men arrested after an incident in Co Down on Wednesday night involving armed police and British soldiers.
A display of "arms" staged by a rogue element of the UVF is believed to have taken place prior to the arrests.
The arrests happened when a vehicle was stopped at Anahilt, crossroads between Banbridge and Hillsborough. A replica rifle was recovered.
Armed RUC officers and British soldiers surrounded the vehicle. A British army helicopter was also used in the operation.
British army bomb experts were called to the scene but no explosives. were found. A Sky television journalist, a cameraman, a newspaper reporter and a photographer had arrived in the area earlier after a tip-off.
A show of strength involving nine masked loyalists, some of whom were armed with what appeared to be AK47s, is understood to have taken place.
The RUC is believed to have seized video tapes from the television crew. A solicitor for the journalists yesterday said that no charges were being brought against them.
The three men arrested were last night still being questioned in Gough Barracks in Armagh. One of the men is a leading loyalist originally associated with south Belfast.
The UVF's Mid-Ulster brigade is understood to have been involved in the show of strength which took place earlier.
The unit has rejected demands by the Belfast leadership that it disband. It is eager to show that it has support across the North.