66-year-old man charged in connection with bomb explosion at Dunmurry Police Station
Defendant appears via videolink at Lisburn Magistrates' Court; police say explosion could have killed anyone in close proximity
Quick Look
- A 66-year-old man has appeared in court charged with offences relating to a bomb explosion at Dunmurry Police Station on the outskirts of Belfast.
- The device, placed in a hijacked delivery vehicle, detonated as police were evacuating the area.
- The prosecution alleges the explosion could have killed anyone in close proximity.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
This case involves a bomb attack on a police station in Northern Ireland, a region with a history of political violence. The method used - hijacking a delivery driver and using their vehicle to transport the bomb - represents a concerning tactical approach targeting civilian workers.
A 66-year-old man has appeared before a court charged with a number of offences relating to the explosion at Dunmurry Police Station, on the outskirts of Belfast, last Saturday. He was arrested three days after the bomb, which was placed in a hijacked car, detonated outside the building.
The other charges he faces include causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property and possessing articles for use in terrorism. Smyth appeared via videolink in front of Lisburn Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning, where a detective inspector from the serious crime branch said he could connect him to the charges.
He laid out the details of the police investigation, noting that at 22:09 BST on Saturday 25 April a call was made to a Chinese in Belfast requesting delivery to Summerhill Park in the Twinbrook area. At 22:43 BST the delivery driver arrived in that area, got out of his vehicle and was threatened by two men. One man then placed a gas canister type bomb in the rear of his vehicle. He was told he had 30 minutes to bring the vehicle to Dunmurry Police Station before a bomb would explode.
The delivery driver arrived at the station and raised the alarm and the device detonated at 23:15 BST as police officers were evacuating the area. The detective inspector said that explosion "could clearly have killed anyone within close proximity".
A solicitor for Smyth argued that there was insufficient evidence at this time to link him to most of the charges. His defence accepted he could be linked to a phone top-up on the day of the explosion. That phone, police say, was the one used to call the Chinese delivery.
A detective inspector told the court a man, they believe to be Smyth, was seen on CCTV topping that phone up at a machine in a shop. The PSNI officer said: "The very next transaction on that top-up machine is a £20 top-up of a Monzo bank account linked to Mr Smyth."
The defence solicitor, arguing for some of the charges to be thrown out, said "all you can say is that he bought a top up at the Centra [shop] and that phone was later used to phone a Chinese".
Open Questions
- Who are the two men who threatened the delivery driver?
- What was the motive behind the attack?
- Was this a coordinated act or isolated incident?
- What was the exact composition of the bomb?
