Pipe bomb left near playground 'crude but viable'

The drugs scene in Navan took a sinister twist last week when a "crude but viable" pipe bomb was found just yards away from a children's playground in the town. The device was left under the car of a well-known senior figure in the illicit drugs trade in Navan who is believed to owe tens of thousands of euro to a Dublin-based gang, after large quantities of cannabis resin were taken out of circulation by Gardai in recent weeks. The drama, which unfolded last Thursday, began with an anonymous phone call to the Samaritans in Limerick early that morning claiming that a pipe bomb was attached to or in the car of the individual and warning that he had 48 hours to get out of town. Gardai were alerted and sought to track down the vehicle and its owner who could not be located at first, but the vehicle was then found parked at a laneway off the Commons Road, beside the Ross Na Ri housing estate. The Army Bomb Disposal Unit was called in and the area was sealed off. Residents living within a 100m radius of the vehicle were evacuated from their homes as a precaution. On examination, the vehicle was found to be 'clean' but, in follow-up enquiries tracing the movements of the vehicle, Gardai located the pipe bomb in the car park beside the Boreen Keel playground at around 3.30pm. This area was then sealed off, the Boreen Keel road was closed to traffic for a time and the Army Ordnanace Unit was again called back in to examine the device which was found to be a crude device but viable. It is understood the homemade device would have needed to be lit to explode and could not have been activated by remote control. It is thought the car had been parked in this area originally and that the pipe bomb had been left underneath it. The nearby playground was extremely busy with children playing at the time as it was a sunny afternoon. Once Gardai discovered the device, the playground and houses in the vicinity were immediately evacuated. Scenes of crime officers conducted a forensic analysis of the area and enquiries are continuing, though it is understood that a number of lines have been established. The threats to the local drugs figure are believed to be connected to recent Garda seizures of hundreds of thousands of euro worth of cannabis resin that have been recovered in recent weeks in and around Navan. The successful seizures took almost €600,000 of cannabis resin out of circulation. Inspector Kieran McEneaney of Navan Garda Station has said that the recent seizures were an "enormous success in the fight against the illicit drugs trade" in the town and had "impacted greatly on alleviating the supply of drugs". He said that Gardai are "following a positive line of enquiry" regarding the drugs seizures. Inspector McEneaney added: "Apart from these seizures, we would expect further success in the coming weeks. We thank the public for their assistance and appeal for any further information on the local drugs scene to be passed on to us. We are obliged to the community and the response from the Navan public has been invaluable to the success of these seizures and the public's continued assistance is welcome."