Ulster Cops Arrest Woman As Officer's Murder Probed

There has been a further arrest in the ongoing probe into a police officer's murder earlier this year.

A woman has been detained in Omagh, as more searches are being carried out by police investigating the booby-trap bomb murder of Constable Ronan Kerr.

The 23-year-old female was detained in the area on Wednesday, and is the sixth person to be arrested since Tuesday and like the others, she is being questioned at Antrim Serious Crime Suite.

The five men - aged 22, 27, 33, 37 and 46 - arrested on Tuesday remain in custody following the major PSNI operation earlier in the week.

It has now emerged that some 200 officers and other staff carried out a series of raids across counties Down, Londonderry and Antrim, as part of investigations into the killing.

In all, seven properties were searched - in areas including Coalisland, Toome, Bellaghy, and Ballyronan - and the men were detained under the Terrorism Act.

The operation is part of the investigation into Constable Kerr's murder on 2 April and associated incidents including the seizure of munitions in Coalisland on 5 April.

Constable Kerr, who joined the police in May 2010, is the second officer to have been killed since the Royal Ulster Constabulary became the PSNI in 2001 with dissident republicans blamed for both the murders.

A PSNI statement on Tuesday emphasised that the £50,000 reward remains on offer from the independent charity Crimestoppers for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for Ronan's murder.

"The Crimestoppers number is 0800 555 111. Alternatively, members of the public can contact detectives in Omagh on 0845 600 8000," the PSNI statement concluded.

See: PSNI Operation Targets Cop's Killers

(BMcC/KMcA)