Public urged to be vigilant after security alerts
News Letter
24 December 2008
LURGAN residents were on full alert yesterday as police revealed they had received a telephoned bomb warning on Monday night.
Members of the public were being urged to be vigilant as searches were carried out in the town.
However the alert was later declared a hoax.
Detectives had been appealing for anyone who noticed any suspicious activity, particularly around Church Walk, Wellington Street and North Street, to contact them.
People were also being warned not to touch any suspicious objects they might come across and contact their local police station.
Local DUP MLA Stephen Moutray said that whoever was responsible for the incident “had absolutely nothing to offer society”, branding it a “sinister attempt to lure the police into a trap”.
He said: “I would absolutely condemn this, and the safety of the police and local population would be my immediate concern.
“Given the economic situation that prevails at the moment this is the last thing business people in Lurgan need in the run-up to Christmas.”
The incident came just days after a similar alert in Co Fermanagh, which yesterday remained ongoing.
A telephone warning had been made on Friday to a “local news organisation” about a rocket-propelled grenade being fired by a terrorist organisation in the Newtownbutler area “in the last 48 hours”.
It was claimed that the device had failed to explode.
But according to a police spokesman the information provided was “imprecise given the large area it referred to”.
He added that whilst police had “no information to substantiate the claim”, they were urging people to be cautious and not touch any suspicious object.
“The location should be reported to police straight away,” he said.
'So venceremos, beidh bua againn eigin lá eigin. Sealadaigh abú.'
--Bobby Sands