TWO MEN have been arrested in Belfast in relation to a hijacking and security alert in March which saw Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney be evacuated from an event which he had been speaking at.
The men aged 46 and 51 were arrested under the Terrorism Act, one in Shankill area of Belfast, and the other in the Ballymena area.
Two vehicles have also been taken away for examination, and two firearms were found by Terrorism Investigation Unit detectives.
Both men are currently being questioned in the Serious Crime Suite of Musgrave police station in Belfast.
Minister Coveney had to abandon a speech to the John and Pat Hume Foundation on 25 March when a hijacked van with a device on board was left outside The Houben Centre on the Crumlin Road.
The centre was evacuated and a nearby funeral was disrupted before the device was later declared to be a hoax.
The van driver had been hijacked at gunpoint by two armed men and forced to drive his vehicle to the venue.
After the alert, police said they believed the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) was behind the planting of the hoax device.
"At this early stage of the investigation, our assessment is that these crimes were carried out by loyalist paramilitary groups," ACC McEwan said at the time.
"We're keeping an open mind but one of the primary lines of investigation is the UVF."
