TWO VIABLE explosive devices discovered outside head shops in the midlands were made safe by an army bomb disposal unit yesterday.
The bombs were discovered shortly after 10am outside two shops, located within 200m of one another at Mardyke and Sean Costello Street in Athlone, Co Westmeath.
Gardaí were alerted to the bombs by a staff member at one of the stores who had discovered the suspicious device while opening for business.
Gardaí immediately alerted the bomb squad, cordoned off the street and evacuated a number of homes and businesses in the vicinity.
Army bomb disposal officers then used a robot to disarm and remove the two devices which were later confirmed as viable improvised explosive devices.
Gardaí in Athlone are now conducting door to door inquiries and examining CCTV.
Selling legal products which mimic illegal substances such as cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis, head shops have been the focus of public and political criticism in recent months.
Public protests have taken place in some parts of the country and two head shops in Dublin were the target of alleged arson attacks.
The constituency office of Longford/ Westmeath Senator Nicky McFadden, a vocal opponent of head shops, was among the premises evacuated during yesterday’s bomb scare.
Senator McFadden expressed shock at the discovery of the devices. Condemning the act, she said, “first and foremost they are breaking the law. It is wrong to put lives at risk and destroy business for a whole morning”.
While head shops were “flying in the face of every morality”, Senator McFadden said “whoever was placing these devices on our two main streets will have to realise that vigilantism is not the way to go.”
“These devices could have cost lives,” she said. “I have had a number of phone calls from people this morning expressing their concerns and worry.”
Urging people to stay away from head shops, Senator McFadden said she would do everything in her power to have them closed down.
People with concerns should attend a public meeting being held by the local drugs awareness committee in the Shamrock Lodge Hotel at 7.30pm today, she added.
Seven doors up from the Senator’s constituency office, the owner of Myth and Magic placed the blame for such attacks squarely on the shoulders of the media.
Although reluctant to give the story any exposure, the woman said: “The media is putting people’s lives in danger.”
She claimed head shops had operated unmolested in Ireland for five years.
The media spotlight on the shops had led to these incidents, she argued.
The Myth and Magic store, which has outlets in Longford and Tullamore, was closed for an hour and a half during the bomb scare.
The owner of the second head shop, Eclipse, declined to comment when contacted about the incident.