POLICE have said two "dangerous individuals" are now behind bars after being handed five-year jail terms for planting a bomb at a Derry hotel ahead of a PSNI recruitment event.
Brian Walsh and Darren Poleon, both from Co Meath, left the blast bomb in shrubbery around 20 metres from the lobby of the Waterfoot Hotel in October 2015.
Police said further evidence suggested Poleon had made a reservation to stay at the hotel a few days later, when they believe an attempt would have been made to move the device inside the building.
It was discovered when officers attended a series of security alerts at venues for police recruitment events including the Waterfoot, the Millfield Campus of Belfast Metropolitan College and Strule Arts Centre in Omagh.
Judge Geoffrey Miller said while the remote-controlled device was made safe, it had the potential to cause "severe physical injury or death... to members of the PSNI and others attending the hotel".
Both Poleon (43), from Lightown in Kells, and 35-year old Brian Walsh, of Drumree in Dunshaughlin, were jailed for five years to be followed by the same period on licence after their release.
Despite initial denials, both pleaded guilty to possessing an explosive substance with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury to property on October 6 2015 and possessing articles for use in terrorism on the same date.
Judge Miller said the improvised device was a modified fire extinguisher packed with one kilogram of explosives and spoke of the men's intention to deploy the "potentially lethal" bomb.
Senior Crown prosecutor Terence Mooney told Belfast Crown Court earlier this week how the pair came to the attention of police in Omagh after a Ford Focus driven by Poleon was seen acting suspiciously on the evening of October 6.
They appeared nervous and told officers they both lived in the Republic and had been in the north to buy a car engine.
The vehicle was searched and a backpack containing a green balaclava and bolt cutters was found.
They initially denied knowing anything about it, before Walsh claimed it was his.
Also found were balaclavas, a two-way radio, a toy gun, gloves and a satellite navigation system.
The men were arrested on suspicion of going equipped for burglary and were released on bail and ordered to return from the Republic to Omagh to honour their bail in December 2015.
It was at this point that they were arrested under the Terrorism Act.
Meanwhile, the sat-nav was examined and indicated that the car left Poleon's house in Co Meath on the morning of October 6, it stopped at a supermarket in Cavan where the pair were recorded on CCTV buying the backpack, and arrived at a roundabout close to the Waterfoot Hotel at 9.06pm that evening.
It was then turned off for 30 minutes before the power was reconnected.
Mr Mooney said: "This is consistent with the bomb being placed in the car park by the defendants at that time."
The prosecuting QC said the sat-nav also showed that a vehicle had been driven to two other venues - one in Belfast and one in Omagh - due to host PSNI information events.
This, the Crown said, indicated the device left in Derry was "part of a terrorist campaign carried out in Northern Ireland... a dangerous terrorist campaign".
He lawyer also said images and texts on the men's phones showed they "at least supported the aims of a terrorist organisation".
The court heard that the information linked them to "people associated with Irish republicanism" and among the images was one of a paramilitary-style shooting accompanied by the words 'bringing back old school' and 'dealers beware'.
Judge Miller told Poleon and Walsh that he was reducing their sentence from 13 years to 10 for a number of reasons, including their guilty pleas which saved the need for a costly trial and the fact they crossed the border in December 2015 and returned again to Omagh to answer their bail.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Gillian Kearney said the intention of the bombers "was undoubtedly to murder and seriously injure people as well as to deter people from pursuing a career in policing".
"They had no regard for the safety of anyone staying in or visiting this popular hotel," she said.
"I am pleased that the threat posed by these two dangerous individuals has been removed and they are now in prison.
"This investigation highlights the determination of our officers to keep people safe and we would ask communities to help us by providing police with any information they have about terrorist or criminal activity."
