Newry man (30) charged over Northern Bank raid

A man arrested by detectives investigating the £26

A man arrested by detectives investigating the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery in Belfast was charged today with collecting information likely to be of use to terrorists.

Over £26.5 million was taken in the Northern Bank robbery
Over £26.5 million was taken in the Northern Bank robbery

Peter Kelly denies the charge, which relates to an unauthorised document on his work computer which allegedly contained the names, payroll references and National Insurance numbers of 36,000 Northern Ireland civil servants.

The document also included similar details for 3,300 civil servants who worked for the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and 70 prison service employees, Belfast Magistrates' Court heard.

Mr Kelly (30) of Drumboniff Road, Newry, Co Down, denies a second charge of possessing a document or record likely to be of use to a person committing an act of terrorism.

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The computer technician was remanded in custody and will reappear via videolink on November 16th.

Mr Kelly is the third person to face charges linked to the robbery since last Friday.

On Friday, a 23-year-old Co Down man was remanded in custody when he appeared in court to deny involvement in the robbery. On Monday, a 42-year-old from Co Tyrone was granted bail when he appeared in court denying a charge of giving false police statements.

The robbery took place at the Northern Bank headquarters in Belfast's Donegall Square West just before last Christmas.