04/11/2005

Man remanded in custody over Northern Bank raid

A man has been remanded in custody over charges brought in connection with last year's £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery in Belfast.

Dominic McEvoy, 23, of Mullandra Park, Kilcoo, is accused of robbery, falsely imprisoning a bank worker and his wife, and with possession of a gun or imitation firearm.

On Friday the court heard how it was alleged Mr McEvoy's DNA was found on a hat at a Northern Bank official's home in Loughinisland from the time of the robbery.

When Mr McEvoy was charged on Thursday he replied: "I had no involvement in the Northern Bank robbery or the kidnapping."

Mr McEvoy is one of five men arrested in connection with the heist, which is the largest in UK history. Three other men are still being questioned about the robbery in Belfast. A 25-year-old man was released without charge by police on Thursday.

Last year's robbery on December 20th was blamed on the IRA by PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde and the British and Irish Governments. However, both the IRA and Sinn Fein denied the accusations.

A subsequent report by the International Monitoring Commission (IMC) said the IRA was behind the robbery and that senior members of Sinn Fein had sanctioned the raid.

In its fourth report, published following the heist, the IMC said that while Sinn Féin continually said it was opposed to criminality of any kind “it appeared at times to have its own definition of what constitutes a crime”.

(MB/SP)

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