A father and son arrested after masked men hijacked a car at gunpoint and ordered the driver to take the vehicle to a Co Tyrone PSNI station have been released without charge.
The 56-year-old and 29-year-old, who are both members of Republican Sinn Féin, were arrested on Sunday after three masked men hijacked a car at around 10pm on Saturday near St Mary's Church in Drumragh, which is outside Omagh.
A suspicious object was placed in the silver-coloured Volkswagen Golf and the driver was told to take the vehicle to Omagh PSNI station where it was abandoned.
Police say a search was later carried out in the Strabane area, leading to the arrest of a 29-year-old man.
They added that the 56-year-old man was arrested in Omagh after a search.
Police confirmed on Tuesday evening that following forensic examination, the object was confirmed to be an "elaborate hoax".
The Irish News understands that the 29-year-old had travelled to Strabane with his father on Sunday after he was made aware that his home was being raided.
After dropping off his son, the 56-year-old made his way back to Omagh, where he lives, before he was stopped by police and also detained.
The PSNI say both search and arrest operations were carried out under the Terrorism Act and that two vehicles were seized for forensic examination.
Solicitor Owen Beattie, of Owen Beattie and Co Solicitors, said his clients "are rightly angered by the decision by police to arrest and detain them in relation to these spurious allegations".
"We contend police concerningly failed to provide any justification for our clients arrest," he said.
"We now intend to lodge complaints with the Police Ombudsman and issue legal proceedings against the Chief Constable."
The British army bomb squad attended the scene and removed the object, which police said was to be examined "to establish its viability".
The hijacking and security alert comes less than three months after a senior PSNI officer was targeted in Omagh.
Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell was shot and seriously injured in a New IRA gun attack at a sports complex on the outskirts of the town in February.
In November last year the driver of a hijacked car was ordered to drive to a police station in Derry after a viable device was placed in his car by members of Arm na Poblachta.
A similar attempt to hijack a vehicle in Derry in February was unsuccessful.
