OMAGH COP FORCED OUT
OMAGH COP FORCED OUT
Officers warned of IRA threat
The detectives who led the hunt for the Omagh Bombers has quit his home - after his personal details turned up on an IRA hit-list.
Retired cop Eric Anderson left his Co Down home following a warning that his address has been found on Provo files.
It is not clear if the information was found three months ago when the homes of republicans across Belfast were raided, or, if intelligence linked to the Real IRA has surfaced more recently.
As a Chief Superintendent in the RUC, Anderson spearheaded a number of high-profile terrorist investigations including the hunt for the Real IRA killers, who brought carnage to Omagh, in August 1998.
Mr Anderson was also expected to be called as a witness in the civil action brought in Dublin by Omagh relatives against alleged leading figures in the Real IRA.
Security sources say Mr Anderson is one of scores of officers who have decided to move from their homes after learning last year that then- personal details were either stolen from the Castlereagh Special Branch office, or, found among documents seized when police raided the homes of Republicans to smash an IRA spy ring.
Last night, DUP MP, Iris Robinson said the evacuation of so many police and prison officers from their homes underlined how the peace process was a "sham".
"If there was a genuine peace process this wouldn't be happening and much needed public funds that could be used for hospitals and schools wouldn't be spent on having to relocate police and prison officers," said the Strangford MP.
"People don't realise the trauma involved in this, but the government still plays the game of treating Adams and McGuinness as democrats when they are anything but that.
"In reality, the so-called 'peace' is a myth and terrorists are still at their evil work in my constituency and many others."
Since the theft of home telephone numbers of Special Branch officers from Castlereagh last March the Housing Executive has received over 400 applications from people at risk to purchase then-homes. A total of 274 applications were approved up to the end of November last year, exceeding the totals for each of the previous two years.
Up to the end of November, �20m has been spent on the SPED scheme (Special Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings) - almost double the �10.7m.
spent in 2001/02.
During his police career, Eric Anderson imprisoned scores of loyalists and republicans as head of the RUC's anti-racketeering squad in the 1980s, when he investigated the money making schemes of the UDA, UVF and the IRA.
Prior to the Omagh investigation, he was probably best known for putting the UFF gang behind the Greysteel massacre behind bars.
Officers warned of IRA threat
The detectives who led the hunt for the Omagh Bombers has quit his home - after his personal details turned up on an IRA hit-list.
Retired cop Eric Anderson left his Co Down home following a warning that his address has been found on Provo files.
It is not clear if the information was found three months ago when the homes of republicans across Belfast were raided, or, if intelligence linked to the Real IRA has surfaced more recently.
As a Chief Superintendent in the RUC, Anderson spearheaded a number of high-profile terrorist investigations including the hunt for the Real IRA killers, who brought carnage to Omagh, in August 1998.
Mr Anderson was also expected to be called as a witness in the civil action brought in Dublin by Omagh relatives against alleged leading figures in the Real IRA.
Security sources say Mr Anderson is one of scores of officers who have decided to move from their homes after learning last year that then- personal details were either stolen from the Castlereagh Special Branch office, or, found among documents seized when police raided the homes of Republicans to smash an IRA spy ring.
Last night, DUP MP, Iris Robinson said the evacuation of so many police and prison officers from their homes underlined how the peace process was a "sham".
"If there was a genuine peace process this wouldn't be happening and much needed public funds that could be used for hospitals and schools wouldn't be spent on having to relocate police and prison officers," said the Strangford MP.
"People don't realise the trauma involved in this, but the government still plays the game of treating Adams and McGuinness as democrats when they are anything but that.
"In reality, the so-called 'peace' is a myth and terrorists are still at their evil work in my constituency and many others."
Since the theft of home telephone numbers of Special Branch officers from Castlereagh last March the Housing Executive has received over 400 applications from people at risk to purchase then-homes. A total of 274 applications were approved up to the end of November last year, exceeding the totals for each of the previous two years.
Up to the end of November, �20m has been spent on the SPED scheme (Special Purchase of Evacuated Dwellings) - almost double the �10.7m.
spent in 2001/02.
During his police career, Eric Anderson imprisoned scores of loyalists and republicans as head of the RUC's anti-racketeering squad in the 1980s, when he investigated the money making schemes of the UDA, UVF and the IRA.
Prior to the Omagh investigation, he was probably best known for putting the UFF gang behind the Greysteel massacre behind bars.
Further Information
Publisher: SUNDAY LIFE
Ref: SL/146
Published Date: 26-Jan-03
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