Replica gun found in riot search

A replica gun has been found by police carrying out searches following rioting in Lurgan, County Armagh.

A property was searched in the Kilwilkee area of the town on Friday, a day after at least five vehicles were hijacked during a night of violence.

Two vans were set alight and abandoned on a nearby railway track.

The trouble is thought to have been sparked by the jailing of three Lurgan men over a dissident republican plot to kill police with a mortar bomb.

Chief Inspector Jason Murphy said police had received numerous reports of armed men in the area.

"While there are no reports of any shots being fired, this is not acceptable behaviour for our streets and robust action will be taken," he said.

He said there were no reports of petrol bombs being thrown and no-one was injured.

"This was clearly an attempt to draw my officers into the situation to escalate the violence and to cause serious disruption or injury," he added.

Dissident mortar bomb gang jailed

Two vans were hijacked on Thursday night in the Kilwilkie estate, while an articulated lorry was also set on fire in the nearby Tullygally estate.

SDLP MLA Dolores Kelly said disturbances had been anticipated following the sentencing of the three dissident republicans but police faced a difficult job in these situations.

"I spoke to the police on Tuesday and they had additional resources in the town and were well-prepared for all eventualities," she said.

"The trap is of course to draw the police down into the area where there are hijacked vehicles."

DUP MP David Simpson said: "I fear what is going on in parts of my constituency is that young impressionable men are having their minds poisoned and filled with hatred by older men."

"We must protect the hard-won stability and peace of recent years from those who would seek to destroy it and drag Ulster back in to death and bloodshed," he added.

Condemning the rioters, Sinn Fein MLA John O'Dowd said: "There was an attempt by six to a dozen people to bring out large numbers of people onto the streets, which didn't work.

"The vast majority of young people refused to be drawn in."

Disruption

Public transport company Translink said rail services were disrupted between Lisburn and Portadown and a bus substitution service is in place.

A number of streets in the area were closed for a time but have since reopened.

The trouble came after three Lurgan men were each jailed for 15 years for plotting to kill police officers with a mortar bomb.

Damien McKenna, 26, of Deans Walk, Gary Toman, 24, of Drumnahoe Avenue and Sean McConville, 23, of Kilwilkie Road, pleaded guilty.

A live mortar, complete with launching tube, was found near the Cornakinnegar Road in April 2007.

The police said they believed the men were members of the dissident republican Continuity IRA.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version