‘I was offered €10,000 to plant Limerick bomb’

AN Englishman told gardaí he was offered €10,000 to plant a bomb that was intended to kill eight people in Limerick.

Limerick Circuit Court yesterday heard the man was arrested following a raid in Mungret, Co Limerick, in which explosives, a Sterling sub-machine gun and drugs were seized.

The accused made the claim during interviews with gardaí at Roxboro Garda Station last June, the jury of 10 men and two women heard yesterday.

Sean Smith, aged 30, of Loughmore, Mungret, Co Limerick, also with an address at Swinford Gardens, Brixton, London, has pleaded not guilty to three charges of being in possession of an explosive device, a Sterling sub-machine gun and a cortex detonating chord, and three other charges of being in possession of a quantity of cocaine for an unlawful purpose at Loughmore, Mungret, Co Limerick, on June 3, 2003.

Yesterday, at the second day of the trial, the court heard details of memos of garda interviews in which Smith claimed he was asked by a man called “Skinny” to plant a bomb which was in the garage of a house in Mungret.

“He asked me to plant the bomb for €10,000 and I told him and another man that I did not go around killing innocent people. I was to plant the bomb somewhere in Limerick and I told Skinny I was not doing it,” he said.

Detective Garda David Nolan, Roxboro Garda Station, gave details of interviews he had with the accused in the presence of Detective Garda Jerry Doherty following his arrest on June 3 last. The accused told gardaí two men named “Skinny” and “Bomber” were involved in the plot.

The court heard that Skinny told the accused: “The explosive was going to go off in Limerick. It was going to hurt eight people. It was going to damage four to eight people.”

The accused was unaware of the feud in the city.

The trial continues today.