A MAN appeared in court today, accused of having a fully loaded, severed rifle that police believe is linked to the North Antrim UDA.
but it was revealed that PSNI would not pay for overtime work, so an investigating officer could tell the same hearing about the intelligence gathered in the case. A development that the judge said he was “absolutely amazed” to hear.
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” he said.
David Morel is accused of three crimes allegedly committed just days ago at the Ballysally mansion in Coleraine.
In addition to possessing a firearm intended to endanger his life, he is also accused of possessing a rifle and five rounds of ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
Morel appeared in the magistrate’s court in Balimena via video link from the police arrest. A police officer said police searched the 44-year-old’s house at the Balisali estate and when told what they were looking for, “he informed them that there were firearms in the kitchen, in the trunk, under some pillows.”
The officer said that instead of a regular double-barreled rifle, the seized weapon was a fully loaded firearm that was adapted to carry five rounds instead of three.
Morel claims he found the gun in his bag on the way home from work the day before and “panicked” when he saw what it was.
The court was told that close footage from CCTV cameras would be seized to investigate the allegations, and the weapon would be subjected to a forensic test to determine whether it was linked to any paramilitary-style attacks.
Opposing the bail, police said they believed the gun was linked to the UDA in North Antrim and, given its seizure, there could be repression by the group against Morel.
Several loyalist paramilitary flags related to the UDA and UFF were also found in his home.
During cross-examination, police admitted that Morel had been arrested for membership in a banned organization, but was released unconditionally.
“This is a strange case,” a defense lawyer told the court.
The court was told that neither Morel’s fingerprints nor his DNA would be found on the weapon, a gun that the judge described as unusual and which he wanted to know more about his alleged links to the UDA and intelligence.
But the testimony officer said: “This is not my investigation, so I’m sorry, but I don’t know – the team that was dealing with it couldn’t send an investigating officer.
The policeman then expressed surprise that given the successful nature of the search operation, “they will not pay overtime for a leading officer” to come to court.
“I am amazed, absolutely amazed,” the judge said.
“I don’t know the story that goes into the search, but I have to deal with the evidence, and since the police are not able to do that, I give a guarantee … if there was an IO (investigator) before me, there could have been a different outcome. . “
Morel, whose full address was not disclosed in court, was electronically tagged, ordered to live in Balikassal, observe curfew and report to police twice a week.
The case was adjourned until later this month.
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