Police carry out raids in Lurgan

A 22-year-old man who was arrested as part of raids in Lurgan earlier in the week, has been released unconditionally.

The police launched raids on Wednesday as part of an operation investigating dissident republican activity.

The man had been arrested on Thursday, with four other men being arrested on Wednesday.

Those four men remain in police custody.

Police investigating dissident republican terrorist activity in the Lurgan area have been given more time to question four suspects.

A court has allowed detectives to continue to interview four men arrested on Wednesday - two aged 22, one aged 24 and one 46 - until Monday evening.

A fifth suspect, arrested in Lurgan on Thursday, also remains in custody at a police station in Belfast.

Police have arrested a fifth person as part of an investigation into serious crime in the Lurgan area.

A 22-year-old man has been taken in for questioning at a Belfast police station.

Four men arrested on Wednesday as part of the operation remain in custody.

Ulster Unionist MLA Jo-Anne Dobson has welcomed the "timely manner in which police are conducting their searches" but said she was concerned that "dissident republicans are trying to take us back to the dark ages - to our bloody past".

Elderly residents were among 15 families who had to be evacuated from their homes during police raids in Lurgan.

As UTV Correspondent Jane Loughrey reports, pensioner Gerard McAlinden told UTV it was “a bit of an upheaval” for those caught up in the major security operation.

“I didn’t know what was going on, to tell you the truth,” he said, having been out of his home for around seven hours.

He added that police had just said there was a suspect device in the area and that it would be advisable to leave.

During searches across the Co Armagh town, including in the Kilwilkie estate, a number of arrests were made.

Four men are still being held as part of the investigation into dissident republican activity.

Police investigating serious crime in the Lurgan area have made a number of arrests.

Four men have been detained following searches of properties in the town on Wednesday morning, as part of an ongoing security operation.

Several houses in the Woodville Avenue area have been evacuated.

Two men, aged 22, a 24-year-old and a 46-year old man have been arrested.

All four are being questioned at a Belfast police station.