Gardaí to examine CCTV after hoax bomb incident
More than a thousand people had to be cleared from a city centre hotel and neighbouring buildings overnight on Saturday after the discovery of what looked like a bomb.
Investigating officers will examine hotel CCTV cameras for any clues regarding the person who planted the device.
On Friday evening, gardaí recovered two homemade pipebombs and arrested one woman during a raid on a house in Finglas, Dublin.
At 11.15pm on Saturday, gardaí received a call in relation to a bomb at the Clifton Court Hotel on Eden Quay, not far from O’Connell Street Bridge.
Units from nearby Store Street Garda Station located a suspicious device at 11.19pm.
“The area was immediately sealed off and a full evacuation was commenced,” said a Garda spokesman.
He said the army’s Explosive Ordinance Disposal team (EOD) was called.
A spokesman for the Defence Forces described the device as “an elaborate hoax”.
He said the device was a plastic tupperware lunchbox, which had some batteries and a clock taped around it.
“It was designed to look like a bomb, but it wasn’t. It had no explosive content. It was designed to cause disruption. Gardaí had to clear the building and surrounding buildings.”
He said a controlled explosion was carried out and the remains were handed over to gardaí. The EOD team left at 1.30am and hotel residents and drinkers were allowed back in.
Experts from the Garda Technical Bureau yesterday began examining the device for any fingerprints or other forensic evidence.
The Garda spokesman said no arrests had been made and appealed to anyone with information to contact gardaí at Store Street on 01 6668000 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
In a planned search last Friday, gardaí raided a house in Barry Park, Finglas and located two pipe bombs, a shotgun and ammunition. They also found cocaine and herbal cannabis worth €10,000.
The Defence Forces spokesman said the devices were made safe: “These were live, viable devices, but were not set to go off. They appeared to have been stored there.”
A 22-year-old female was arrested and questioned at Finglas Garda Station.
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