A MAN was being questioned by the RUC last night in connection with Tuesday's killing in Belfast of the INLA chief of staff, Gino Gallagher, senior police sources have confirmed.
RUC sources also confirmed that the weapon used to kill Mr, Gallagher at a dole office on the Falls Road had not been used in any previous paramilitary shootings.
At least one other man arrested in connection with the killing has since been released without charge. The man in custody is said to be connected to an INLA faction which was in dispute with Mr Gallagher.
The RUC is still holding to its line that Mr Gallagher's murder was a direct consequence of a feud within the INLA. Mr Bill Stewart, the RUC Assistant Chief Constable for Belfast, has stated that there were "strong indications" that the killing followed from rivalry within the paramilitary organisation.
The police suspect that a supporter of a faction opposed to Mr Gallagher carried out, or was directed to carry out, the shooting. The history of internal feuding within the INLA adds weight to this suspicion, according to police.
But Mr Kevin McQuillan, spokesman for the Irish Republican Socialist Party, political wing of the INLA, denied that Mr Gallagher died as a result of an internal power struggle. The INLA has stated that those responsible for Mr Gallagher's death will be tracked down.
The IRA has denied involvement.
The RUC said yesterday it could not comment on a report that the weapon used to kill Mr Gallagher had been stolen from a British soldier. RUC sources indicated that the murder weapon had not been used in previous attacks.
The weapon was a Walther pistol stolen from a soldier, according to last night's Belfast Telegraph.
