Northern Ireland

Three arrests following sudden death of man in north Belfast

Three people were arrested on suspicion of drug offences at a house in Bentinck Street. Picture by Bill Smyth
Three people were arrested on suspicion of drug offences at a house in Bentinck Street. Picture by Bill Smyth Three people were arrested on suspicion of drug offences at a house in Bentinck Street. Picture by Bill Smyth

THREE people last night remained in police custody after the sudden death of man in north Belfast.

The body of the man, who was aged in his 20s, was found in a house in the Tigers Bay area of the city on Tuesday morning.

While the cause of death last night remained unclear, police said three people were arrested at the scene on suspicion of drugs offences.

The name of the deceased had not been released.

A PSNI spokesman said they were investigating the circumstances of the death of the man, who was found in a property in Bentinck Street at around 11.30am.

A post mortem was due to take place "in due course".

"Two males, aged 27 and 24 years old, and a 20-year-old female who were in the property at the time have been arrested on suspicion of a number of drugs offences and remain in police custody," he added.

Details of the man's death and the arrests were only released following a request for information from the media.

When asked why this was the case, a PSNI spokeswoman said police "do not proactively issue details of sudden deaths".

"We have no investigative reason or policing purpose to issue details about a sudden death proactively unless we suspect there to be suspicious circumstances surrounding the death," she said.