Five men and two women have been arrested in the North by police investigating domestic sex-abuse allegations going back more than 30 years.
It is understood the seven, all of them adults, were detained in the greater south Down area.
Specialist officers from the PSNI's public protection unit were called in after a number of complaints were made against individuals.
Police later confirmed that five men and two women were arrested in relation to a number of allegations of historic sexual abuse.
A spokesperson at police headquarters in Belfast said: “As this is a live investigation it is not appropriate to comment further.”