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2 Sinn Fein charged with IRA membership

DUBLIN, Ireland, May 13 (UPI) -- The investigation of a $40 million Northern Ireland bank heist has resulted in two Sinn Fein members being charged with membership in the IRA, officials said.

Tom Hanlon, 42, and George Hegarty, 62, both of County Cork, Ireland, were charged Tuesday in Dublin's high-security Special Criminal Court with membership in the banned paramilitary organization, The Times of London reported. Hanlon reportedly was a Sinn Fein councilor until 2004 and ran in the Irish Republic's 2002 general election.

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They were arrested as part of the Irish police's continuing inquiry into the 2004 robbery of the Northern Bank's Belfast headquarters, which police suspect was carried out by members of the Provisional IRA. The two Sinn Fein members were charged with being belonging to the IRA at the time of the robbery, The Times said.

A Cork financial adviser, Ted Cunningham, became the only person convicted of a crime connected to the robbery when he was sentenced to 10 years for money laundering last month, the newspaper said.

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