The Belfast trial of three men allegedly secretly recorded in a Co Armagh park discussing a failed murder-bid on police in December 2013, has heard of other alleged secret recordings involving one of the men in Spain four months earlier.
These recordings, said to be of 52-year-old Colin Francis Duffy, allegedly have him attempting to set-up an arms deal with a British Secret Service operative posing as a rich east European businessman holidaying in Majorca in August 2013.
The prosecution claim this 'Spanish material', ruled in as evidence by a separate disclosure judge, provided a "sinister context" in which it is alleged Colin Duffy showed a "preparedness, a propensity in seeking to obtain weapons and explosives".
Mr Justice O'Hara, hearing the Diplock-style case, was also told the recordings, although circumstantial evidence, "directly supports the charges of membership and directing terrorism".
Duffy is on trial along with 51-year-old Harry Joseph Fitzsimmons, and 58-year-old Alex McCrory, on the membership, or proporting to be IRA members, and to directing terrorism.
Fitzsimmons and McCrory, whose addresses, like that of Duffy, cannot be reported at this time, deny attempting to murder police in the Ardoyne convoy on December 5, 2013, and possessing the two AK47 assault rifles and ammunition used in the north Belfast gun attack.
The trial has already seen and heard extracts of covert Secret Service videos, and taped audio recordings allegedly of the trio, made in a Lurgan park, the day after the the convoy was fired on.
Tomorrow it is expected that the trial will be played the recordings made in the Spanish resort of Santa Ponsa.
Today the court heard that the audio recordings were between Duffy and the operative and his pretend girlfriend.
The operative posed as a rich businessman in the Spanish resort with his girlfriend. They struck up a friendship with Duffy after asking for a light for a cigarette.
The prosecution claimed that Duffy, after hearing the businessman fought in Bosnia and say he had 'tanks' in reply to a question if he had a yacht, asked if he could get "anything other than tanks". In turn he was told getting the materials was not the problem, "the difficulty was transport".
During several meetings, usually in a local bar, Duffy allegedly said he could arrange shipment, and was also taped asking about the explosives C4 and Semtex, while complaining of having to use "fertilizer based stuff".
The lawyer further alleged Duffy asked about the possible supply of RPG rockets, detonators, AK47 assault rifles, while also discussing Russian rifles and if they could penetrate flack jackets, and that for about £200,000 to £250,000 an amount of equipment "could be supplied in small batches".
