Neil Lennon bomb plot trial: The story of a manhunt

IT was a vast manhunt which employed the specialist skills of covert operatives and some very old fashioned detective work.

The crimes of Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie shocked civic Scotland, and the priority for Strathclyde Police, their arrests notwithstanding, was ensuring there would no further victims. The force did not know if the perpetrators would strike again, and was involved in a race against time to bring them to justice.

It was known as Operation Elbrus, an unwittingly apposite name, given it referred to a dormant volcano in the Caucasus mountains range. The crimes, committed against a backdrop of acrimony between Scotland’s two major football teams and fierce debate about sectarianism, impacted not only on those who the suspect packages were addressed to.

“It was the police’s intention from the outset to ensure an effective response was planned for any future similar incidents,” explained Detective Chief Superintendent John Cuddihy of Strathclyde Police, the senior investigating officer in the case. “Whilst our primary objective is evidence gathering, my main objective was to maximise the safety of the public, including those sent packages through to members of the postal service.”

In the wake of the packages being discovered, police did not immediately have any suspects in mind. It was, Mr Cuddihy admitted, a “crime in action - essentially a manhunt,” and the force worked closely with other partners, including the Police Service of Northern Ireland, and the Crown Office. Indeed, the latter was brought in at the earliest stages, with Liam Murphy, district procurator fiscal for Hamilton, attending the force’s ‘gold group’ meetings, helping influence and assist the investigation.

“Given the high profile nature of this case and the type of criminality involved, we were involved with Strathclyde Police from an early stage,” Mr Murphy revealed. “In fact, we were involved before Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie were suspects.”

The urgency of the task at hand saw the force deploy a myriad range of techniques, including covert officers who were able to secretly record telephone conversations and bug McKenzie’s car. Such out of the ordinary approaches were crucial, Mr Cuddihy said.

“The series of events had a distinct and sinister pattern, with the identification of a number of devices. Three of them were explosive in nature, and one could be described as incendiary,” he explained. “The investigation itself was extremely dynamic, very complex, and required experienced investigators together with covert specialists.”

Yet the arduous process of locating and apprehending Muirhead and McKenzie made a breakthrough thanks to a technique known as source determination. Taking stock of the various components which made up the suspect devices, Strathclyde Police traced them to their point of manufacture, distribution, and sale, before cross referencing them with CCTV footage from shops.

A breakthrough came when they found records of a sale made at the B&M discount store in the Ayrshire town of Stevenston on 14 April last year. The transaction was for three types of item - bubble envelopes, sports watches, and travel bottles - all of which were found in the packages. The buyer was one Neil McKenzie. Allied to the covert work, and the financial investigations which followed, the police found their men, and were able to garner further evidence, mainly in the form of conversations between the two.

“All this allowed us to focus on identity and to progress the investigation to establish who, why, where, but in particular, where were they now?” Mr Cuddihy said. “How many persons were there? What was their future intentions?”

It culminated on what Mr Murphy described as a “day of executive action” on 12 May last year, when both were arrested after a series of early morning raids in Ayrshire. “John and I were in constant dialogue throughout the day,” Mr Murphy recalled. “As the evidential picture developed, I was able to provide John with my analysis of the available evidence. At the end of that day, it was my view that there was sufficient evidence.”

One frustrating part of the investigation was that there was no direct forensic evidence from the packages which could identify Muirhead or McKenzie, but Mr Cuddihy said that appeared to show they knew what they were doing. “In any investigation it’s always disappointing to get forensic evidence,” he said. “But that perhaps told me there was a forensic awareness.”

While a key plank of the defence case centred around the fact the devices sent by Muirhead and McKenzie were not viable, Mr Murphy said it was important the evidence the Crown presented in court aimed to prove to the jury that both men thought the packages were capable of exploding.

“The Crown case was based on our interpretation of the evidence that Trevor Muirhead and Neil McKenzie both believed that the packages could either ignite or explode, and there are various pieces of evidence, which, when taken together, brought us to that conclusion,” he explained.

“Such as the warnings given by both to Gordon Muirhead, the reference by Neil McKenzie to the fact that the street would become famous, or what they should do if they heard a bang. [There was also] the intercepted conversation with Neil McKenzie saying he told someone how to build a bomb, and the intercepted conversation between both about planting a bomb outside a police station.”

Despite suggestions the crimes may have been linked to Ulster organisations, Mr Cuddihy said there was no evidence to support such a hypothesis. Similarly, Mr Murphy said that while the Crown “thought maybe there was a sectarian element” to the crimes at the outset, they changed their mind. “As the case developed ,Crown counsel considered that the evidence pointed towards the targets being prominent supporters of Celtic FC and Ireland, as opposed to those individuals being targeted for religious reasons,” he reasoned.

For his part, Mr Cuddihy believes there was a very easily explainable motivation behind what Muirhead and McKenzie did. “For me, it was predicated by hate, pure and simply,” he stated. “It certainly had nothing to do with football. It was hate of the individuals involved.”

While several of the charges faced by the accused were withdrawn, Mr Murphy believes the jury’s verdict is vindication of the work of police and prosecutors.

He said: “We withdrew some of the charges to allow the jury to focus on the main charges, and it’s our contention that if the jury come back with a conviction in this case, it’s a conviction for a criminal course of conduct, and it would be testament to the hard work and skill of the prosecutors who worked tirelessly on this case and the close working relationship we have with the police.”

TREVOR MUIRHEAD

A 44-year-old from Kilwinning, Trevor Muirhead is a supporter of Loyalist groups and is proud of his Protestant heritage, even though he claims to have once cheered on Celtic.

The jury was told that during Muirhead’s police interview he told them about his past, being part of the Apprentice boys of Derry and that he came from a kind of “loyalist, Rangers, protestant background.”

Following his arrest, police recovered a series of items from his home in a dawn search including Red Hand of Ulster flags and a commemorative picture with the initials UVF on it. The court was also shown an oath of allegiance to the Scottish Unionist Association, dating from September 2009.

The jury was told it read: “I, Trevor Muirhead, am a Protestant by birth and being convinced of a fiendish plot by Republicans to destroy my heritage, swear to defend my comrades and my country by any and all means against Republicans and Republican offshoots that may be of similar intent.”

Muirhead’s QC, Gordon Jackson, said Muirhead had a room in his house full of “paraphernalia”, Rangers things, UVF and various posters. But he said Muirhead told police he was not involved in any extreme organisations and did not think McKenzie was either.

Indeed, in later interviews with the police, Muirhead said he had “no opinion” on the Celtic manager, Neil Lennon, that he thought Celtic were “a good football club” and that he was a fan of Irish republican music. He even said he was once a “very avid follower of Celtic.”

NEIL MCKENZIE

A 42-year-old from Saltcoats, Neil McKenzie was subjected to close surveillance by covert Strathclyde Police officers, which helped provide evidence leading to his and Muirhead’s conviction.

During the trial, the court heard he bought travel bottles, a digital watch, and envelopes, while shopping with his mother at the B&M discount store in Stevenston, Ayrshire, last April.

Later evidence also revealed he had been secretly recorded discussing explosive devices when, during a conversation about gas canisters and a padlock, the man identified by a Strathclyde Police surveillance officer as McKenzie said he “was telling thingumy how to build a bomb.”

The recording, made on 4 May 2011, saw a man say: “Looking for somewhere to get gas. F****** cannae. Pass it over the back. F****** daft padlock. I was telling thingumy how to build a bomb. You all right, doll?”

Elsewhere, recordings from McKenzie’s car, which was bugged by covert surveillance officers, made clear his extreme dislike of Celtic manager Neil Lennon. In one clip, the man identified as McKenzie said: “I hope Motherwell win the f****** cup. I hope we win the league and they win the cup and they f****** get nothing and Neil Lennon kills ... commits suicide.”

So too, however, the trial was also told of other “mundane” surveillance carried out on McKenzie – including taking his elderly mother to vote and going shopping with his wife.

McKenzie’s house was also searched by police. Detective Constable Stuart Johnston told the trial a piece of paper with the words “[email protected]. UnionForever1707” written on it was found on a unit in the sitting room.

NEIL LENNON STATEMENT

“This has been a very stressful and difficult time for myself and my family, and clearly I am glad that it is over.

“I would like to thank Strathclyde Police for their professionalism throughout, in bringing these individuals to trial, and for the support they have given myself and my family during this very difficult period. I will forever be thankful to the police for the way in which they have handled this matter.

“I am sure I also speak for Trish and Paul’s family when I say I am glad this period is over. This has been an ordeal which no-one should have to endure.

“Finally, I would like to mention my good friend Paul McBride. His sad passing remains very raw to those close to him, we continue to miss him dearly.

“There is no question this has been a challenging episode in my life and one which has made my role as Celtic manager difficult. However, the position of Celtic manager is one which I am very proud and privileged to hold, and I am now looking forward to putting this matter behind me and getting on with this important job.”