Police investigating allegations of a helicopter being targeted by a dissident republican in Co Fermanagh are treating the incident as a hoax, it has been claimed.
A security alert in Newtownbuter that had been ongoing since Wednesday when reports were made of a suspicious object in the Wattlebridge Road area of the village, ended last night.
The device warning was made by someone claiming to represent the Continuity IRA.
Following a search operation in the area another claim was made by someone purporting to represent the group, stating that a PSNI helicopter involved in the search had been fired upon.
The claim suggested members of the outlawed paramilitary group fired nine rounds at the helicopter using a high-powered Russian-made rifle.
However, police have denied using a helicopter in the area during the security alert, and said they had instead been scanning the area from a fixed-wing aircraft.A PSNI spokesman said that if the shooting claim was true, then it was a civilian helicopter that was targeted, as officers confirmed a private helicopter had not been in the area at the time.
Now the Sunday Life newspaper has reported police are looking into the possibility that the helicopter shooting claims were a hoax. It reported that bullets recovered at the alleged scene of the shooting had not been fired.
The newspaper also reported police are investigating a 45-year-old Co Fermanagh man as being behind the false claims.
Speaking on Sunday, PSNI Chief Superintendent Andy Freeburn said: “A device left at a bus shelter has been declared a hoax. Four rounds of ammunition have also been recovered.
“They have now been taken away for forensic examination. At this stage, it is too early to determine if any weapons were fired, as has been claimed.”
