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Wife speaks out as men still in custody
THE wife of a man taken into custody by anti-terror police today said she was baffled by his arrest and continuing detention.
Neil Jones, aged 37, of Alexandra Road, Swallownest, was arrested in the early hours of Sunday and is still being questioned after a judge granted a custody extension.
His wife Mandy, 36, and the couple's two-year-old daughter Chloe have spent four nights with friends while their two-bedroom house has been searched by officers from the Leeds-based Counter Terrorism Unit.
Neil was arrested along with a 34-year-old man and a 20-year-old woman after police investigating a burglary in Aston found 'suspicious material' inside the 34-year-old's property.
The 20-year-old woman arrested has been released without charge but bailed in connection with drugs and burglary offences. The two men were today still in police custody.
A South Yorkshire Police spokesman said: "Two Rotherham men are still in custody and searches at one address continue as inquiries are ongoing."
The arrests are not related to Islamic extremism.
But Mandy said today her husband was totally innocent – and criticised the way police had kept her from her home.
"My husband left home in the early hours of Sunday morning to pick up this bloke, who he'd met at someone else's house the previous week," she said.
"It was raining and he was going to bring him over so they could watch a DVD together. I wasn't expecting him to be gone long, he'd left the fire and TV on.
"I'd gone to bed but when I realised Neil hadn't come home, I rang his mobile.
"Someone else answered, the other bloke's girlfriend. She said the police had arrived and had found a bag of items they said had been stolen from a chemist in a robbery.
"The police arrested Neil and his friend – I thought he would be home within hours as we have a CCTV camera outside the house which would prove what time he'd left, along with the text messages he'd sent to this man."
But Mandy said she didn't receive a call from Neil until Tuesday evening.
"He said he was sure he was going to wake up soon and it would all be a bad dream," she said.
In the meantime Mandy had been told to leave her home while it was searched – a search which has now been going on for more than four days.
"I've no idea what they are looking for. To suggest Neil is involved in terrorism is crazy.
"He is one for Queen and country, he wouldn't be involved in anything like that. He's a loving family man. How long does it take to search a two bedroomed house anyway?"
Mandy said her husband had a collection of military items, which he had had for years, including body armour.
"But there's nothing illegal about it. It's all completely mad," she added.
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Weather for Sheffield
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Light snow
Temperature: -6 C to 0 C
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Wind direction: South east
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Sunny spells
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