4 Suspected Members of IRA Splinter Group Are Arrested

DUBLIN, Ireland —  An Irish court ordered four suspected members of an IRA splinter group into custody Wednesday after police firing stun grenades stopped their weapons-packed vehicles on a road to Belfast.

The four are suspected of membership in the Irish National Liberation Army, the only paramilitary group in British-ruled Northern Ireland that refused to declare a truce last year.

The arrests were made 20 miles north of Dublin as the men traveled in a car and a van on the main road to Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland.

Officers recovered six assault rifles, at least 20 handguns and about 2,000 rounds of ammunition, Ireland’s national police said.

Hugh Torney, 41, Anthony Patrick Gorman, 25, Sean Braniff, 41, and Dessie McCleery, 41--all from Northern Ireland--were brought before a special anti-terrorist court and ordered held until April 25.