HIGH-TECH HUNT FOR BOMBERS REVEALED
High-tech hunt for bombers revealed
Millons of records sifted
By Darwin Templeton Chief Reporter
DETECTIVES hunting the Omagh bombers have trawled through records of an astonishing 500 million phone calls, it was revealed today.
The RUC team has painstakingly sifted through details of telecomunications traffic in south Armagh and Omagh before and after the atrocity in August 1998.
Investigators used computers and other hi-tech equipment in a bid to pinpoint calls to and from certain numbers.
By doing so, they hope to link suspects together - and to certain areas at crucial points in the planning and execution of the attack.
The operation is thought to have been the largest of its kind ever undertaken by law enforcement agencies in Europe.
Twenty nine people died and more than 250 were injured when the Real IRA car bomb ripped through the centre of Omagh on a busy Saturday afternoon. Now new details of the massive scale of the police investigation are revealed in the updated version of the best-selling book, 'RUC: Force Under Fire'.
The huge RUC team has interviewed 6,000 potential witnesses, carried out 3,500 door-to-door enquiries and taken 2,600 statements.
Forensic scientists have examined 400 items - including two telephone boxes - and have been able to reconstruct parts of the bomb.
As a result of the efforts, some 78 people have been questioned in swoops on both sides of the border.
But frustration is mounting in the force that they have been able to bring charges against just one man, Colm Murphy from Dundalk, in connection with the bombing. He is due to stand trial in Dublin later this year.
Author Chris Ryder, a former member of the Police Authority, said: "I know from my interviews with RUC officers how disappointed they are that in spite of the scale of their investigation they have not been able to bring charges against people against whom they have very strong suspicions.
"The number of telephone calls traced sheds light on the absolute thoroughness of the investigation carried out by the RUC and Garda on both sides of the border."
The officer leading the hunt, Deputy Assistant Chief Constable Eric Anderson, said: "We have used the most recent technology available in Europe to assist our inquiries. "We have left no stone unturned in terms of gathering evidence and we are continuing our efforts.
"The investigation is very much still alive."
Millons of records sifted
By Darwin Templeton Chief Reporter
DETECTIVES hunting the Omagh bombers have trawled through records of an astonishing 500 million phone calls, it was revealed today.
The RUC team has painstakingly sifted through details of telecomunications traffic in south Armagh and Omagh before and after the atrocity in August 1998.
Investigators used computers and other hi-tech equipment in a bid to pinpoint calls to and from certain numbers.
By doing so, they hope to link suspects together - and to certain areas at crucial points in the planning and execution of the attack.
The operation is thought to have been the largest of its kind ever undertaken by law enforcement agencies in Europe.
Twenty nine people died and more than 250 were injured when the Real IRA car bomb ripped through the centre of Omagh on a busy Saturday afternoon. Now new details of the massive scale of the police investigation are revealed in the updated version of the best-selling book, 'RUC: Force Under Fire'.
The huge RUC team has interviewed 6,000 potential witnesses, carried out 3,500 door-to-door enquiries and taken 2,600 statements.
Forensic scientists have examined 400 items - including two telephone boxes - and have been able to reconstruct parts of the bomb.
As a result of the efforts, some 78 people have been questioned in swoops on both sides of the border.
But frustration is mounting in the force that they have been able to bring charges against just one man, Colm Murphy from Dundalk, in connection with the bombing. He is due to stand trial in Dublin later this year.
Author Chris Ryder, a former member of the Police Authority, said: "I know from my interviews with RUC officers how disappointed they are that in spite of the scale of their investigation they have not been able to bring charges against people against whom they have very strong suspicions.
"The number of telephone calls traced sheds light on the absolute thoroughness of the investigation carried out by the RUC and Garda on both sides of the border."
The officer leading the hunt, Deputy Assistant Chief Constable Eric Anderson, said: "We have used the most recent technology available in Europe to assist our inquiries. "We have left no stone unturned in terms of gathering evidence and we are continuing our efforts.
"The investigation is very much still alive."
Further Information
Publisher: BELFAST TELEGRAPH
Ref: BT/0728
Published Date: 13-Jan-00
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