PSNI knowledge breach: Two males arrested beneath Terrorism Act in investigation over ‘linked criminality’

Two males have been arrested beneath the Terrorism Act by officers investigating the breach of knowledge from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The suspects are aged 21 and 22 and had been held following a “search in the Portadown area on Saturday”, the PSNI mentioned on X, previously often known as Twitter.

It added: “The arrests are part of our investigation into criminality linked to the freedom of information data breach.”

Sky’s senior Ireland correspondent, David Blevins, mentioned the arrests had been “not related to the data breach itself”.

He added: “The Northern Ireland Policing Board has ordered an unbiased evaluation of how the names of 10,000 officers and workers had been mistakenly launched.

“But detectives are also investigating how the information has been distributed and have made a number of similar arrests in the last three weeks.”

The knowledge was leaked when the PSNI revealed the data in response to a Freedom of Information request.

On Friday, it emerged that PSNI officers had been investigating an “attempt to intimidate” officers after a poster claiming to disclose their particulars was put up close to a bus cease.

The power has since confirmed the poster was faux and contained incorrect particulars.

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A girl who mentioned her title was on the poster says she is “outraged” and never a police officer.

In an announcement launched by means of a solicitor, she mentioned: “My personal information was written on the poster that was put up in Dungiven that linked myself, my partner and two other named individuals to the PSNI.

“I stay in a small rural village and everybody within the space who has seen the poster thinks it’s referring to me, though everybody would know that I’m not a police officer.

“I can categorically clarify that I am not a serving police officer and I have never been employed by the police in any capacity.

“This is simply plain flawed and I’m outraged that I’ve now probably been made a goal for an imminent assault on my life.”

She also said she was “deeply upset and anxious” and claimed the PSNI “refused my request to challenge an announcement confirming that I’m not a police officer”.

A PSNI spokesperson said they could “verify that the individual elevating these considerations has no present or historic hyperlinks to the police service”.

Detective Chief Inspector Avine Kelly said: “We proceed to work towards establishing those that possess data regarding final week’s knowledge breach, and can take motion to make sure that any criminality recognized is handled robustly to maintain communities, and our officers and workers who serve them, protected.”