Trainee lawyer ‘caught with car bomb’ had ‘spent time in Syria’ | UK | News

According to the court, the trainee lawyer who was allegedly caught driving a car bomb to Northern Ireland was said to have been in Syria before and was a member of a “political group”. Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, was arrested on Wednesday after an “extremely significant seizure” and police said the bomb could have caused serious damage.

The Garda private detective unit launched an operation and stopped a vehicle near the Irish border at Carrickmacross in County Monaghan.

A man in his 40s was also arrested as part of the investigation.

As reported by Daily MailSullivan’s barrister, Gavin Booth, told Trim District Court that despite his political background and time spent in Syria, he had moved away from political involvement and was studying to become a lawyer.

He told the court that Sullivan, who had a law degree at ATU Donegal, was “manipulated” to smuggle a bag across the border and did not know what was inside.

Garda commissioner Justin Kelly said: “Any seizure of this nature is truly worrying.

“But we certainly know that there is a small minority of dissident republicans who do not accept the Good Friday Agreement, who do not take the weapons and explosives (out of use), who do not go through the proper process of decommissioning. So that is something we continue to focus on.

“There is a small minority of these people, I would describe them as radical republicans, and that is a threat we will continue to face in An Garda Síochána for some time to come.

“We are working very closely with our colleagues in the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) and the intelligence services in the UK to deal with this threat. But I would like to recognize the members of An Garda Síochána who participated in this operation.”

“This was an explosive device and may have caused or could have caused serious damage.”