Five men arrested over alleged links to the al Qaeda terrorist network have been released by detectives, British police said late Monday.
They were granted police bail on the day pending further inquiries into allegations of fraud, a police spokesman was quoted by agencies as saying. Four other men arrested at the same time have been passed into the custody of the immigration service and are being detained on suspicion of immigration offences. No date for their return to face any potential charges has been released.
The nine men were arrested in dawn raids last Thursday on suspicion of links to Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda network. They were alleged to have been implicated in terrorist plots in Europe. Under the terrorism act 2000, detectives had an initial 48 hours to question them and they secured an extension of 72 hours at Leicester magistrates court, central England, last Friday.
Under the law, detectives could have applied for a further extension of up to 72 hours Tuesday but opted not to question the men further. During the raids last week, Leicestershire police also arrested seven men and one woman under immigration laws. The men have now been transferred to the immigration service while the woman was released without charge.
Two Algerian men were remanded in custody by magistrates in Leicester last Thursday after being charged with membership of al Qaeda and other alleged offences. (Albawaba.com)
