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Police station car bomb accused appears in court

Eve RosatoBBC News NI
News imageCharles McQuillan/Getty Images A forensic investigator dressed in a white hazmat suit and purple plastic gloves gathers evidence at the scene of a car bomb attack on Dunmurry Police Station. The investigator is walking towards the wreckage of the vehicle which has been blown apart. Three yellow evidence markers have been placed on the road, one is inside a clear plastic bag. Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
The bomb exploded last Saturday night outside Dunmurry Police Station

A 66-year-old man has appeared before a court charged over the explosion at Dunmurry Police Station, on the outskirts of Belfast, last Saturday.

Kieran Smyth, from Beechmount Avenue in Belfast, is charged with attempted murder and causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury.

He is further charged with hijacking, possessing explosives with intent to endanger life and possessing articles for use in terrorism.

His defence solicitor argued that there was insufficient evidence at this time to link him to most of the charges.

Smyth was arrested three days after the bomb, which was placed in a hijacked car, detonated outside the police station.

He appeared via videolink in front of Lisburn Magistrates' Court on Saturday morning, where a detective inspector from the serious crime branch said he could connect him to the charges.

He laid out the details of the police investigation, noting that at 22:09 BST on Saturday 25 April a call was made to a Chinese in Belfast requesting delivery to Summerhill Park in the Twinbrook area.

Bomb 'could clearly have killed anyone'

At 22:43 BST the delivery driver arrived in that area, got out of his vehicle and was threatened by two men.

The court heard the delivery driver said he was threatened with a pistol.

One man then placed a gas canister type bomb in the rear of his vehicle.

He was told he had 30 minutes to bring the vehicle to Dunmurry Police Station before a bomb would explode.

The delivery driver arrived at the station and raised the alarm and the device detonated at 23:15 BST as police officers were evacuating the area.

The detective inspector said that explosion "could clearly have killed anyone within close proximity".

Phone used to call Chinese

News imageCharles McQuillan/Getty Images Two forensic investigators at the scene of the Dunmurry car explosion. They are both wearing white hazmat suits, blue masks and purple plastic gloves. They are walking around the wreckage of the exploded car which is lying on the road beside concrete bollards outside the large police station wall. On investigator is carrying a yellow evidence marker inside a clear plastic bag. Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
The gas cyclinder device detonated while nearby homes were being evacuated

Smyth's defence solicitor said all the police evidence showed was that his client could be linked to a phone top-up on the day of the explosion.

That phone, police say, was the one used to call the Chinese delivery.

A detective inspector told the court a man, they believe to be Smyth, was seen on CCTV topping that phone up at a machine in a shop.

The PSNI officer said: "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 some of the charges to be thrown out, said "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 said she "couldn't separate out those charges" and she was "satisfied that the defendant could be linked to all the charges".

No bail application was made and he was remanded into custody to appear again on 18 May.