CAR BOMBS MADE BY THE SAME PERSON
CAR BOMBS MADE BY THE SAME PERSON
THE Omagh bomb trial has been told a detonator now being used in evidence was discovered five years after it was supposed to have been destroyed.
It was found in an ammunitions box in 2003 by a forensic scientist "investigating links between the series of attacks Sean Hoey is accused of. The unlabelled detonator was from a car bomb attack on Armagh police station in 1998.
On Wednesday, the trial also heard from the forensic officer responsible for searching the scene of the Omagh bombing.
He told the court that the explosion created a crater three metres wide and almost a metre deep.
The car the bomb was in was thrown 20 metres down the street.
The court also heard that a series of bombs made in the run-up to the dissident republican explosion in Omagh, which killed 29 people, were all made by the same person.
Forensic scientist Dennis McAuley told the Crown Court he was convinced ten bombs planted by the Real IRA in 1998 had been made by the same person. He claimed the soldering and wiring of timer power units used in the campaign were of a similar nature.
Mr McAuley was appearing at the trial of Sean Hoey, 37, who is accused of 58 terrorism offences.
His defence team argued that the claim was merely a guess with no scientific reason.
"I believe there is support for the proposition that these, the Northern Ireland 1998 units, were made by the same person rather than a group of people sharing knowledge.
All the attacks were launched using timer power units (TPUs) contained in plastic lunchboxes and Mr McAuley claimed they were of poor and unusual quality.
He has examined 47 of the devices during his career at the Forensic Science Northern Ireland, Laboratories near Belfast.
Hoey, from Molly Road, Jonesborough, Co Armagh, denies any involvement and his defence team, headed by Orlando Pownall QC, wants Mr McAuley's evidence thrown out because of an alleged lack of scientific expertise.
THE Omagh bomb trial has been told a detonator now being used in evidence was discovered five years after it was supposed to have been destroyed.
It was found in an ammunitions box in 2003 by a forensic scientist "investigating links between the series of attacks Sean Hoey is accused of. The unlabelled detonator was from a car bomb attack on Armagh police station in 1998.
On Wednesday, the trial also heard from the forensic officer responsible for searching the scene of the Omagh bombing.
He told the court that the explosion created a crater three metres wide and almost a metre deep.
The car the bomb was in was thrown 20 metres down the street.
The court also heard that a series of bombs made in the run-up to the dissident republican explosion in Omagh, which killed 29 people, were all made by the same person.
Forensic scientist Dennis McAuley told the Crown Court he was convinced ten bombs planted by the Real IRA in 1998 had been made by the same person. He claimed the soldering and wiring of timer power units used in the campaign were of a similar nature.
Mr McAuley was appearing at the trial of Sean Hoey, 37, who is accused of 58 terrorism offences.
His defence team argued that the claim was merely a guess with no scientific reason.
"I believe there is support for the proposition that these, the Northern Ireland 1998 units, were made by the same person rather than a group of people sharing knowledge.
All the attacks were launched using timer power units (TPUs) contained in plastic lunchboxes and Mr McAuley claimed they were of poor and unusual quality.
He has examined 47 of the devices during his career at the Forensic Science Northern Ireland, Laboratories near Belfast.
Hoey, from Molly Road, Jonesborough, Co Armagh, denies any involvement and his defence team, headed by Orlando Pownall QC, wants Mr McAuley's evidence thrown out because of an alleged lack of scientific expertise.
Further Information
Publisher: TYRONE HERALD
Ref: TYH/041
Published Date: 23-Oct-06
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