Gardai have arrested three men this morning in connection with the investigation into the murder of south Armagh man Paul Quinn last October.

The three, who are in their 20s and 30s, were detained following a number of searches in Co Monaghan.

They are being questioned at Monaghan and Carrickmacross garda stations under section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act.

Mr Quinn, 21, was beaten to death by a gang of men after being lured to a remote farm in Co Armagh on October 20th.

The inquest into his death was opened briefly before being adjourned last month.

Sinn Fein denies any republican involvement in the 21-year-old's murder. No-one has ever been charged.

The PSNI today said they were assisting gardai during a targeted operation in the south Armagh area today.

A PSNI spokeswoman added; “The aim is to carry out the operation with minimum disruption to local communities”.

Mr Quinn was lured into travelling across the Border from his home in Cullyhanna, Co Armagh, to a cattle shed near Castleblayney, Co Monaghan, on October 20 last year. He was severely beaten by a gang of up to a dozen men and died in hospital in Drogheda.

His parents maintain he was killed by the IRA because of a personal feud with one of its members and have rejected claims by Sinn Fein that it was linked to fuel smuggling.