Man charged in relation to murder of prison officer arrested

40 year old Damien McLaughlin was arrested today under a European arrest warrant in a joint police operation.

PSNI
Published 2nd Mar 2017
Last updated 2nd Mar 2017

Prison officer David Black was shot while travelling to work in November 2012.  

Mr McLaughlin, from Kilmascally Road near Ardboe, is charged with aiding and abetting murder.

He had been granted bail in May 2014 and hadn't been since November 2016.

He is due to appear before Dublin's Central Criminal Court tomorrow.

Detective Chief Superintendent Raymond Murray, from PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch, praised the joint efforts of the PSNI and An Garda Siochana.

“Since his disappearance Police have carried out extensive enquiries regarding Mr McLaughlin’s whereabouts.

"Throughout this time the PSNI has been liaising closely with An Garda Siochana and today’s arrests demonstrate the benefits of joint working between police forces and other national partner agencies." He said.

Two other arrests were made as part of the operation.

A 59 year old man arrested in Donegal has been taken to Letterkenny police station, while a 47 year old woman arrested in Belfast is being questioned in Musgrave Serious Crime Suite.