Northern Ireland Briefing: Cross-border Raid

A large-scaled, cross-border, security operation swung into operation at 4am this morning. The PSNI and the Garda raided several properties, in a joint operation.

The raid is believed to have focused on the family home of top republican and alleged one time IRA Chief of Staff, Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy. Up to 50 PSNI officers were involved, backed up by the British army and two helicopters. The Garda were also backed up by the Irish army.

While the operation is related to organised crime, it is not understood to be linked to the Assets Recovery Agency probe in 250 properties in the Greater Manchester area. Mr Murphy, 62, claims to know nothing about these properties and insists he makes his living exclusively from farming.