THE Brixton Prison escaper, Mr Nessan Quinlivan, was among three men being questioned by gardai in Limerick last night about IRA activities.
Mr Quinlivan and two local men were arrested shortly after 7.30 a.m. at their homes in the city. They were held under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act, which allows detention without charge for 48 hours. Mr Quinlivan has been on bail pending the hearing of his appeal against extradition to Britain.
Gardai said the three held were being questioned about IRA membership and IRA related activities.
Mr Quinlivan (30), from Ballynanty Beg, Limerick, is wanted in Britain on charges of escaping from Brixton in July 1991, along with Mr Pearse McAuley (31), from Strabane, Co Tyrone.
The two had been in Brixton awaiting trial on charges of conspiring to murder a former brewery executive, Sir Charles Tidbury, and of causing explosions.
Both men were arrested in the Republic in April 1993 on firearms charges. Mr Quinlivan was sentenced to four years in prison, and Mr McAuley to seven years. Last November they were released from Portlaoise Prison as part of the Government's early release programme for republican prisoners. They were immediately rearrested on the extradition warrants and brought to Dublin, where they applied to the High Court for bail.
Both men were granted bail on, December 18th, after the High Court was told it could take up to 18 months for the courts to hear their appeals against extradition orders. They were granted bail on their own bonds of £10,000 each and independent sureties of £60,000 each.
Mr Quinlivan is understood to have remained in Limerick, but Mr McAuley has not been seen for some weeks. Garda activity against the IRA in Limerick has increased since Det Garda Jerry McCabe was shot dead in Adare during an attempted robbery last June.