AN ENNISKILLEN man charged with planting a bomb in Co. Louth has been refused bail as police request surveillance information from Gardaí, court hears.
At Omagh Magistrates Court a bail application was made on the behalf of Emmett Maguire (43) of Station Road.
Maguire is charged alongside co-accused 32-year-old Rory Logan of Ross Close in Enniskillen with transporting an ‘high explosive’ improvised bomb on June 8 from Cullies Graveyard in Co. Cavan to a disused car park in Dromad, Co. Louth, with intent to endanger life.
A police detective outlined the objections to granting bail, citing links with the New Irish Republican Army (NIRA), alleging that Maguire was ‘sympathetic’ to the dissident republican movement.
The detective told the court that the PSNI have gathered evidence that linked the accused to the charges, including CCTV, phone data links and Satnav information linked to the route taken.
The detective raised concerns that if Maguire was released on bail that there would be a risk of further offending by terrorist acts and a risk of fleeing the jurisdiction, explaining that connections between the NIRA between the North and the Republic would allow Maguire to evade prosecution.
It was added that if Maguire was released, his detailed knowledge of the ongoing investigation could lead to possible interference and obstruction of the case against him.
Defence counsel Peter Corrigan questioned the detective on the current investigation, asking what surveillance had been carried out.
The detective informed the court that an international liaison request had been made to gain access to the Gardaí surveillance operation on the two defendants. It was said that officers from the Gardaí had followed the defendant’s movements and made observations, although the detective could not comment further until the information was received.
Mr Corrigan refuted the objections, noting that when Maguire was released pending inquiries following his arrest on June 9 he did not flee his Fermanagh home and attended further questioning one month after.
Details of Maguire’s links to Enniskillen were also disclosed, including his family ties and his own business which continues to operate.
Mr Corrigan added that Maguire at this stage of proceedings has a presumption of innocence and therefore a right for bail.
The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) prosecutor interjected and said to the court that the concerns of reoffending must be considered in the context of the NIRA’s recent activities in the North, which strengthened the objections to bail.
District judge Ted Magill said that between the evidence gathered to date and the pending Gardaí surveillance information that there was a ‘strong case’ against the accused, and releasing the accused would present a ‘real danger’.
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