Irish Police Arrest Former Ira Leader

The former commander of the IRA, Thomas "Slab" Murphy, is due to appear in court today on tax evasion charges linked to money laundering and fuel smuggling, the Irish police said today.

The arrest of Mr Murphy, who led a wing of the Irish Republican Army that spearheaded most of the major bomb attacks on Britain during the Troubles, follows a joint operation by the UK Assets Recovery Agency - set up to seize the wealth and property of criminals and terrorists - and its Irish counterpart, the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

Detectives from the CAB detained him in Dundalk, County Louth, last night. Police said he faced nine charges of failing to file tax returns.

A joint British-Irish raid in March 2006 on his family home, which straddles the Irish border, uncovered fuel tankers, an underground pipeline, laptops hidden in hay bales, and bags of cash and checks.

Police said the former IRA chief complained of chest pains after his arrest last night and was admitted to Our Lady of Lourdes hospital in a stable condition.

But the Gardai said today that he was still due to appear before Ardee district court at 10.30am.

Mr Murphy has lost two libel suits against the Sunday Times for describing him as a key IRA commander, weapons smuggler and criminal. Despite being arrested many times before, he has never been charged with any crime.