Royal Marine made pipe bombs used by Irish dissidents in attacks, court hears
Commando had held a grudge ever since being beaten up as a teenager
A ROYAL Marine commando built a series of pipe bombs, then used his military cover to help transport the explosives from England to Northern Ireland, where they were used in attacks, a court has heard.
Ciaran Maxwell, a dissident republican from Northern Ireland, joined the Royal Marines after being subjected to an attack as a teenager, the Old Bailey was told.
Maxwell, 31, who was based in Exminster, Devon, stockpiled a cache of explosives, chemicals and other terrorist material, which he stashed in hides in England and Northern Ireland. The weapons were then used by fellow dissidents in at least four attacks.
Maxwell, originally from Larne in County Antrim, pleaded guilty earlier this year to preparation of terrorist acts between January 2011 and August last year. He also admitted fraud and possessing cannabis with intent to supply, which police believe was done to fund his terrorist activity.
At the beginning of his sentencing, prosecutor Richard Whittam QC, said: “Across 14 of the locations involved, Mr Maxwell had in his possession, or had constructed, 14 pipe bombs. Of those, four have been deployed in Northern Ireland.”
The court heard that while nobody was hurt in the attacks, two of the devices had exploded and could have caused loss of life. The first device exploded in February 2013 in Larne and an associate of Maxwell’s, Niall Lehd, was subsequently jailed. In July 2016, a device was found in Carnlough, but did not go off, and the following month another unexploded device was found in a Belfast street. Last December, police were called to Armagh after a pipe bomb explosion in which nobody was hurt.
Maxwell, a Catholic who grew up in the largely Protestant area of Larne, is thought to have harboured a grudge against Loyalists after being beaten up in 2002.
In a move that will raise serious questions over vetting procedures, Maxwell successfully applied to join the Royal Marines, beginning his training in Sept 2010. Less than six months after joining he began researching the manufacture and construction of explosives and began compiling a list of potential targets. The Old Bailey was told it was likely Maxwell used his position in the Marines to help move arms between his various hides in England and Northern Ireland.
The court heard he had hoarded more materials and chemicals, enough to make 19 more pipe bombs, and had a replica handgun and ammunition, thought to have been stolen from his base.
The Old Bailey heard how Maxwell was caught when a walker stumbled across one of his hides in Carnfunnock Country Park, near Larne, in March last year.
Maxwell was linked to the weapons through his DNA and was put under surveillance, before being arrested in August 2015. As well as the explosive and bomb-making materials, he was found to have a copy of the IRA “Green Book”, along with a list of potential targets.
Maxwell appeared by video link from Woodhill prison in Milton Keynes. The hearing is expected to last three days.