The components for a large car bomb were found in the boot of a northern registered car in a church car park near the border last year, a court in Dublin has been told.
The court has heard that a man was arrested in the grounds of a Co Louth car park after Gardai raided the area.
Gareth Mulley(45), of Aisling Park, Dundalk, Co Louth has pleaded not guilty to the unlawful possession of an explosive substance - PETN and RDX, an adapted 50 litre beer keg, 50 kg of ammonium nitrate homemade explosives, an improvised steel booster tube and an improvised time and power unit at Kilcurry Church, Co Louth on May 25th, 2014.
The Special Criminal Court heard that the components were for a large beer keg bomb that was to be moved to Northern Ireland. The court also heard evidence from a garda ballistics expert that an improvised time and power unit had a thirty-minute delay function. The expert said that the beer keg and components had been used in the past in high explosive improvised explosive devices.
An Army Explosives Ordnance Disposal officer who examined the items found in the car said it was a "a device in transit, to be placed at a target." He said he found Semtex H - the explosive PETN and RDX- in the booster tube and this was a military explosive that was used in the past by the Provisional IRA.
He said the items were "a vehicle borne improvised explosive device, commonly known as a car bomb."
The trial is continuing
