Police station car bomb accused appears in court
A 66-year-old man, Kieran Smyth, has appeared in court via videolink charged with attempted murder and causing an explosion after a bomb detonated outside Dunmurry Police Station in Belfast. He is also charged with hijacking, possessing explosives, and possessing articles for use in terrorism, with police linking him to a phone used to order a food delivery that was later hijacked. The judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to connect Smyth to all charges, and he was remanded in custody without bail.
- ▪Kieran Smyth is charged with attempted murder, causing an explosion, hijacking, and possessing explosives and articles for terrorism.
- ▪Police linked Smyth to a phone used to order a Chinese food delivery that was hijacked and used to transport the bomb.
- ▪The bomb detonated at 23:15 BST after the delivery driver alerted police, and the explosion could have killed anyone nearby.
- ▪CCTV footage showed Smyth topping up the phone, and the same machine was used shortly after to top up his Monzo bank account.
- ▪The judge rejected the defense's argument that evidence was insufficient and ruled Smyth could be linked to all charges.
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Police station car bomb accused appears in court3 hours agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleEve RosatoBBC News NICharles McQuillan/Getty ImagesThe bomb exploded last Saturday night outside Dunmurry Police StationA 66-year-old man has appeared before a court charged over the explosion at Dunmurry Police Station, on the outskirts of Belfast, last Saturday.Kieran Smyth, from Beechmount Avenue in Belfast, is charged with attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury.He is further charged with hijacking, possessing explosives with intent to endanger life and possessing articles for use in terrorism.His defence solicitor argued that there was insufficient evidence at this time to link him to most of the charges.Smyth was arrested three days after…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at BBC News.
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