MAN ON CHARGES OVER NETHERLANDS KILLINGS

A man has been charged with murder, arson and robbery in connection with
the deaths of three Irishmen in the Netherlands almost two weeks ago.

The man was arrested in Wassenaar, a small town near The Hague, on
Wednesday evening. A further arrest could be made today by a team of 20
Dutch officers investigating the killings.

Ms Kitty Nooy, a spokeswoman for the Dutch public prosecutor's office, said
yesterday that another arrest could be made "rather soon" and the
investigation team was "optimistic and confident" the case would be solved.

Damien Monahan (24), from Ennis, Co Clare, and brothers Vincent (29) and
Morgan Costello (21), from Bansha, Co Tipperary, were mutilated, tortured
and shot in an apartment in the Hague suburb of Scheveningen on April 29th.

The funeral of the Costellos will take place today in the village of
Bansha, while Mr Monahan's funeral will be tomorrow in the Pro-Cathedral,
Ennis.

Ms Nooy said the three Irishmen were "not known as criminals" by the local
police. According to Dutch police sources a quantity of amphetamines and a
tablet press were recovered in the fifth-floor apartment.

Ms Nooy could not confirm if there was a link between the killings and the
recent targeting of an Irish-Dutch drugs gang by police. However, she said
it was one of the theories examined by police.