ONE of four men arrested over the murder of loyalist John Boreland was previously charged with an attempt on the 46-year-old’s life.
Darren McAllister (33) and a 61-year-old man were arrested in north Belfast on Tuesday morning.
A third man, aged 29, was held in north Ayrshire in Scotland. A 33-year-old man was arrested in Newtownabbey on Tuesday evening.
All four were being questioned at Musgrave police station in Belfast.
Boreland, a close associate of former UDA leader Andre Shoukri, was shot several times on August 7 as he got out of a car to walk to his flat in Sunningdale Gardens in north Belfast.
The father-of-three died at the scene.
Boreland and Shoukri were previously targeted in a shooting at Carr’s Glen Park in the Ballysillan area of north Belfast in August 2014.
McAllister, of Alliance Road in Belfast, and loyalists John Bunting, from Stonebridge Avenue in Conlig, Co Down, and John Howcroft, from Formby Park in Belfast, were accused of trying to kill the pair. However, all charges were dropped in September last year.
The 2014 shooting and Boreland’s murder last month have been linked to a dispute between rival loyalist factions in the Tigers Bay area of north Belfast.
Detective Chief Inspector Justyn Galloway, from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch, appealed for information again yesterday about a silver Renault Megane used by Boreland’s killers.
The car, registration GJZ 4870, was in the Ballysillan area in the days leading up to the murder. It was found partially burnt out near Lisburn two days later.
“We are still very keen to hear from anyone who saw it, saw who was in it and where it had been parked,” Mr Galloway said.
“We are re-issuing two photos of a similar vehicle to enhance our appeal.
“We are also interested in talking to anyone who saw the Megane between the Sunday night of the shooting and when it was found partially burnt out at the old quarry on Wheelers Road near Lisburn on the morning of Tuesday August 9.”
Mr Galloway said the car had been examined by forensics staff and appealed for anyone with information to contact police.
A 42-year-old man was arrested in Belfast following the murder but was later released unconditionally. Police also searched two properties in north Belfast and seized a car.
