Police welcome sentencing of man in relation to terrorist attack on Enniskillen PSNI station

A senior police officer has welcomed the conviction of a man charged with a number of dissident republican related offences.

Gabriel Meehan, 45, appeared before Belfast Crown Court on Friday where he was handed to a 30-month custodial sentence.

Meehan will serve a minimum of two thirds of this sentence before being eligible for release.

The sentencing was in connection to an attack at Enniskillen PSNI station, which was claimed by the Continuity IRA, a number of security alerts between March 13 and March 19, 2021, and the discovery of an improvised firearm located in the Lough Shore Path area of Enniskillen on March 17.

He had previously pleaded guilty to the terrorism-related offences and Friday’s hearing was for sentencing only.

Detective Superintendent Griffin, from the PSNI's Terrorism Investigation Unit, said: "Following a number of searches, a suspicious object was located in the Lough Shore Path area, in the vicinity of Riverside, on 17 March 2021.

"The item was later found to be an improvised shotgun-type weapon and consisted of a spent 12 gauge shotgun cartridge. Due to the amount of cartridge discharge residue present, it was assessed that it had recently been fired.

"A subsequent search of Gabriel Meehan's house recovered a number of items, including a phone which included a vehicle registration number of a member of the British Army, and photos of the improvised shotgun-type weapon found in the Lough Shore Path area.

“He was arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences in May 2021 and, earlier this year, pleaded guilty to collection of information likely to be of use to terrorists.”