31/01/2014

Other News In Brief

DoE Review Finds Toxic Dumping Posed No Risk

A Department of the Environment review has ruled that the secret dumping of radioactive waste in Northern Ireland posed no risk to human health.

The controlled burials in Belfast and Londonderry in the early 1980s were revealed in previously confidential government files.

The DoE review said that the toxic materials had been allowed to decay for a long time before its disposal.

Environment Minister Mark Durkan had ordered the review.

Company Directors Given Suspended Sentences Over Asbestos Dumping

Two company directors have pleaded guilty to dumping tonnes of asbestos at a former factory in south Belfast between 2008 and 2012.

77-year-old Samuel James Shields and 61-year-old Roy Millar Molyneaux admitted 14 charges of keeping, depositing and controlling unlawful waste.

Both men were sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years.

L'Derry Men Plead Guilty To Possession Of Rifle

Two men have pleaded guilty to possession of a rifle linked to dissident republicans.

26-year-old Mark Anthony Patrick Kerr and 44-year-old Anthony Michael Taylor, admitted having the semi-automatic 597 Magnum rifle.

The pleas were accepted on a basis of "second limb possession", which means that the men were holding the weapon for someone else intending to endanger life or cause serious injury to property.

Kerr, from Carrabane Walk, also pleaded guilty to possessing a length of commercial detonating cord on the same occasion and was released on continuing bail.

Taylor, from Bishop Street, was remanded back into custody after refusing bail over having to wear an electronic tag.

The two men will be sentenced next month.

(MH/JP)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

13 March 2023
Three Men Jailed Over 'Savage Group Attack' In 2018
Three men have been jailed at Belfast Magistrates' Court in connection with a "savage group attack" on a man in West Belfast in 2018, which police assess to be linked to Arm Na Poblachta (ANP). Sean Megaw (34) and Mark McGrann (39) were sentenced to four and a half years, half to be served in custody and half on licence.
11 December 2018
Men Jailed For Firearms Offences
Three men have been convicted of attempting to buy firearms and drugs online, with two of them being handed custodial sentences. The prosecution at Laganside Crown Court on Monday 10 December follows an investigation by the PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Task Force (PCTF).
06 February 2023
Appeal For Information On Aggravated Burglary In Cookstown
The PSNI have issued an appeal for information following a report of an aggravated burglary at the Queens Avenue area of Cookstown on Friday 3rd February. Shortly after 10pm, it was reported that four masked men entered a property in the area with one of the men armed with an iron bar and another man armed with a suspected firearm.
05 October 2016
Two Men Attacked With Baseball Bats In Co Antrim
Two 18-year-old men have been attacked with baseball bats in Whitehead, Co Antrim. The victims were closing premises in the Balmoral Avenue area at around 8.30pm on Tuesday, 04 October when three men assaulted them. Both men were treated in hospital for their injuries. One has been discharged, and the other remains in hospital.
06 February 2023
Three Men Jailed In Paramilitary Crime Task Force Investigation
The PSNI's Paramilitary Crime Task Force have welcomed the sentencing of three men at Belfast Crown Court in connection with a policing operation into criminality linked to the INLA.