Two Cavan men are facing jail on explosives charges

Two Cavan men charged over separate explosives and ammunition finds following a garda surveillance operation in County Meath, were sentenced at Trim Circuit Court last week. Twenty-year-old Emmett Reilly of Drumbee, Kilnaleck was jailed for five years for the unlawful possession of 2.5kg of Semtex at Lloyd, Kells while his 33-year-old co-accused John Fallon of Dennbawn, Carrickaboy was sentenced to three and a half years for possessing 500 rounds of ammunition. The court heard that gardaí acting on confidential information found the Semtex and two industrial detonators wrapped separately in a gym bag in the back of a van driven by Emmet Reilly that was stopped and searched on December 17, 2008. The ammunition was found the next day when John Fallon's home was searched. The court heard that the military grade explosive is not commercially available here and Emmett Reilly had told gardaí he discovered it in bags in a ditch while carrying out earth-moving work at a quarry. He claimed that he'd been making enquiries in the Kells area with a view to selling it. But the investigating garda Sgt. Tom Flynn told the court the Semtex was in pristine condition and he had difficulty accepting that it had been stored in a haphazard way. He said the ammunition was in good condition, but showed signs of corrosion, and during cross examination by the defence he accepted that John Fallon's role was a peripheral one. The court heard the two men had met in a gym, neither had any previous convictions and both were assessed as being at low risk of re-offending. Emmet Reilly's barrister pointed out that in his garda statement his client had said he had told another individual to get rid of the Semtex and detonators for him and told gardaí “I just kind of panicked. I didn't know what to do. X said he would sort it outâ€. Sgt. Flynn confirmed that a third person, who was with the defendant when the van was stopped, had said he was “assisting them in efforts to off load the explosivesâ€. John Fallon's barrister said his client no longer associates with his co-accused and had given an explanation to the Probation Service about the ammunition that “he was fascinated by itâ€. Judge Michael O'Shea said he found it difficult to accept the semtex and detonators had simply been found and the only logical explanation was that Emmet Reilly was knowingly involved in transporting them and the garda searches had prevented the dangerous items getting into the wrong person's hands.