Marine held over Irish republican weapons dumps
A ROYAL Marine was being quizzed last night by police probing two major dissident republican arms dumps in Northern Ireland.
The 30-year-old serviceman, named by Sky News as Ciaran Maxwell, was arrested in a raid in Somerset on suspicion of plotting a terrorist outrage.
Investigators searched a house in the village of exminster, south Devon, and a wooded area nearby as part of the operation.
experts said the arrest highlights how the threat of terrorist attacks linked to the Troubles has not gone away.
earlier this year the British intelligence services raised the threat level in Britain from moderate to substantial.
The arrest follows the discovery of arms by police in Northern Ireland several months ago.
Officers discovered two weapons dumps in the forest parks of Carnfunnock and Capanagh near Larne, County Antrim. An armourpiercing improvised rocket and two anti-personnel mines were among the cache recovered at Capanagh in May.
Several pipe bombs, magazines and ammunition for an assault rifle – as well as bomb component parts and command wires – were also concealed in barrels in purpose-built holes.
In March, bomb-making items were discovered in four barrels buried in nearby Carnfunnock Country Park.
Police said two were empty but the others contained a variety of potentially deadly bomb-making components.
These included wiring, toggle switches, circuit boards, partially constructed timer power units, ball bearings and a small quantity of explosives. Officers yesterday returned to the town – which has a mixed unionist and loyalist community – to search several more terraced homes.
There was a major police presence at the scene with Army bomb disposal units also in attendance.
Meanwhile police forensic officers in white suits carried out detailed searches of the area.
At the time of the woodland discoveries there was speculation that the weapons could be linked to loyalist paramilitaries.
But police believe the type of ordnance means it is far more likely that dissident republicans are responsible. The remaining number of extremists intent on bringing about a united Ireland by violent means are tiny compared to the height of the Troubles.
But they remain determined and still have the ability to launch deadly – if sporadic – attacks on security force personnel.
Since 2009, dissidents have murdered two soldiers, two policemen and two prison officers in Northern Ireland.
Major Charles Heyman, who served in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, said: ‘Most of the time the secu- rity forces can keep the lid on it. We have a problem now with Brexit and we have a problem with what happens to the border in the longer term. There are all sorts of issues relating to Northern Ireland and terrorism that will rear their ugly heads in the next couple of years.
‘People forget there is still a problem – it has not gone away.
‘Somebody in the vetting process at the Royal Navy has not been as successful as we would have hoped by allowing this person to join.
‘It is a worry. It is very difficult to stop but the authorities should try harder now.
‘If the man was a loyalist it means they are getting together properly for a retaliation against the republicans.
‘If it was a republican then it is more serious as it could be they are equipping for a new more intensive campaign.’
Scotland Yard said the arrest was carried out by its Counter Terrorism Command, supported by Avon and Somerset and Devon and Cornwall Police.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘We are aware of a police investigation involving the arrest of a member of the Armed Forces under the 2000 Terrorism Act and will assist this investigation fully.
‘It would be inappropriate to comment further on an ongoing investigation.’
‘The problem has not gone away’