Man charged with five offences over Dunmurry police station attack

The scene in Dunmurry in Northern Ireland after reports of a car explosion outside a police station.  File picture

A man has appeared in court charged with five offences over a car bomb attack on a police station near Belfast.

A hijacked delivery car exploded outside Dunmurry police station last Saturday night as homes were being evacuated.

Kieran Smyth, 66, with an address at Beechmount Avenue in Belfast, appeared before Lisburn Magistrates’ Court via videolink charged with a number of offences in relation to the incident, including the attempted murder of persons unknown.

The other offences were compelling a person to use a vehicle for an unlawful purpose; possessing explosives with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property; the possession of articles, namely a SIM card and phone, for use in an act of terrorism; and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property.

Outlining a “truncated” version of the “extensive” investigation, a detective inspector told the court that a call was made at 10.09pm on Saturday April 25 for a Chinese takeaway to be delivered to the Summerhill Park area in Twinbrook.

PSNI officers Tom and Perri during a vehicle checkpoint as part of Operation Inspire on the Knock Road in Belfast. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

When the delivery driver arrived in the area at 10.43pm, he was threatened by two males.

He said that police believe the delivery driver was threatened with a pistol.

One of the males put a gas-canister-type bomb in the back of his car and the driver was told he had 30 minutes to get to Dunmurry police station before the bomb would go off.

When he arrived at the station a few minutes later, he raised the alarm, the court heard.

The police were evacuating buildings in the area when the bomb went off at 11.15pm and “could clearly have killed anybody within close proximity of that device”.

The detective outlined evidence to the court that a £10 top-up was purchased that Saturday afternoon at a Centra retail store on Beechmount Avenue for the same number that rang the Chinese restaurant.

He said the next transaction on the machine was a £20 top-up of a Monzo bank account linked to Smyth.

He said police had also obtained CCTV footage from the location and the male who appears to carry out those transactions – who he said can be seen wearing a green hoodie with “Brazil” written on it – was identified as Smyth by two police officers.

The detective also said that the apartment block Smyth lives in is “essentially next door” to the Centra, and when searches of Smyth’s apartment was carried out on Tuesday, one of the items seized a hoodie with the word ‘Brazil’ on it.

Deputy Chief Constable Bobby Singleton speaking with a driver during a vehicle checkpoint as part of Operation Inspire on the Knock Road in Belfast. Picture: Liam McBurney/PA Wire

He said the phone that had been topped up stayed in the area of Beechmount until it was taken to Summerhill and the call to the Chinese was made.

He said the defendant’s personal phone appeared to be off from 4pm and was turned back on again at 11.45pm, making it inactive during the time he said “you could suggest the preparation of this terrorist attack” took place.

Asked further about this, the detective said that shortly after Smyth’s personal phone was turned on, there are “very quick searches for the incident”.

Phoenix Law’s Gavin Booth, representing Smyth, said there had been a “case of overcharging” and argued that all charges bar possession of a SIM should be thrown out.

He said the “height of what they could say is Mr Smyth is (alleged to have) bought top-up for a phone” and said his activities appeared to be “the normal conduct” of a person on a Saturday.

“If somebody was a committed terrorist (as the prosecution are claiming Mr Smyth to be), I don’t think he’d go into a shop with CCTV and buy a top-up,” he told the court.

He said that the incident was “pretty well-known” and “all over the news” by the time the search for the incident was made on Smyth’s personal phone, to which the detective said he could not confirm that as he was in bed at the time.

The judge said she was satisfied there was enough evidence to connect the defendant to the charges, when taking “all the strands together” and considering there may be further evidence at a later stage.

There was no application for bail and an application for legal aid was granted.

The case is next before Lisburn Magistrates’ Court on Monday May 18 where Smyth is due to appear via videolink.