Man Charged Over Dunmurry Police Station Car Bomb Appears in Court
A 66-year-old man has appeared before court facing multiple charges connected to the explosion at Dunmurry Police Station, located on the outskirts of Belfast, which occurred last Saturday.
Kieran Smyth, residing on Beechmount Avenue in Belfast, is charged with attempted murder, possession of explosives with intent to endanger life, and hijacking.
He was apprehended three days following the detonation of a bomb placed inside a hijacked vehicle outside the police station.
Additional charges against Smyth include causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property, as well as possession of articles intended for use in terrorism.
Smyth appeared via videolink before Lisburn Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning. A detective inspector from the serious crime branch stated that the investigation had established a connection between Smyth and the charges.
The officer outlined the investigation details, noting that at 22:09 BST on Saturday 25 April, a call was made to a Chinese takeaway in Belfast requesting a delivery to Summerhill Park in the Twinbrook area.
Bomb 'Could Clearly Have Killed Anyone'
At 22:43 BST, the delivery driver arrived in the specified area, exited his vehicle, and was confronted by two men.
The court heard that the delivery driver was threatened with a pistol by one of the men.
One of the men then placed a gas canister-type bomb in the rear of the delivery vehicle.
The driver was instructed that he had 30 minutes to deliver the vehicle to Dunmurry Police Station before the bomb would detonate.
Upon arrival at the station, the driver raised the alarm. The device exploded at 23:15 BST as police officers were evacuating the vicinity.
The detective inspector emphasized the severity of the explosion, stating that it
"could clearly have killed anyone within close proximity".
Phone Used to Call Chinese Takeaway
Smyth's solicitor contended that there was insufficient evidence at this stage to link him to most of the charges.
The defence acknowledged that Smyth could be connected to a phone top-up on the day of the explosion.
Police assert that this phone was used to place the call to the Chinese takeaway.
A detective inspector informed the court that a man believed to be Smyth was captured on CCTV topping up that phone at a machine inside a shop.
The PSNI officer added,
"The very next transaction on that top-up machine is a £20 top-up of a Monzo bank account linked to Mr Smyth."
The defence solicitor, arguing for dismissal of some charges, stated,
"All you can say is that he bought a top up at the Centra [shop] and that phone was later used to phone a Chinese."
The judge responded that she
"couldn't separate out those charges"and was
"satisfied that the defendant could be linked to all the charges".
No bail application was made, and Smyth was remanded in custody to appear again on 18 May.
