Irish police arrest man in global computer hacking inquiry

Irish police said they had arrested a man Tuesday as part of an international operation after five members of Anonymous and an offshoot computer hacking group were charged in the United States.

"Working with international colleagues as part of ongoing investigations into computer hacking, a male was arrested this morning" in Dublin, a spokesman for the Gardai, or Irish police, told AFP.

"He is currently detained in Terenure Garda (police) station" in the Irish capital, said the spokesman, adding that the suspect could be held for questioning for 24 hours without charge.

An Irish official source said the man was held in connection with charges filed against five people in the United States.

A US law official confirmed the charges against the five earlier Tuesday, saying that one of the men had pleaded guilty.

According to Fox News, two men from Britain, two from Ireland and an American would be charged in an indictment to be unsealed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

Irish police said they had only made one arrest. Britain's Scotland Yard did not immediately have any details.

(c) 2012 AFP