Belfast Bank Job - It Was The IRA Whodunnit

BrianH

BrianH

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The Belfast bank raid was carried out by the IRA, says Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde. I think they recognised the balaclavas...
 
It was the Irish accent that gave them away and the fact that they had to ask the way San Jose. :)





Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain
- and most fools do. -- Dale Carnegie
 
PSNI chief constable Hugh Orde has revealed that he believes the Provisional IRA was responsible for last month's £22m bank heist in Belfast.
Speaking during a press conference in Belfast, Mr Orde said the evidence and information collected by the police suggested that the IRA was behind the daring raid on Northern Bank headquarters.

The PSNI has been under intense pressure from unionists to state whether it believed the IRA was involved in the raid and today's statement is expected to have serious repercussions for the peace process.

Unionists were already sceptical about the IRA's pledge to end paramilitary and criminal activities and the DUP had called for Sinn Fein to be excluded from political life if the PSNI identified the IRA as prime suspects in the Belfast theft.

IRA sources and members of Sinn Fein have repeatedly denied that the republican paramilitary group was involved in the raid.

From The Irish Independent.

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Mr Orde should keep his gob shut regardless of his beliefs.

It is his job to build a case to bring the criminals to trial and he should get on with that. This is a politically motivated statement. There is already doubt about the PSNI's ability to act as an unbiased body and this sort of statement fuels those doubts further.
 
I agree entirely with Melendez surely whether the individuals who carried out this were members of the IRA or did it for IRA purposes will be a question for the trial judge not Mr Orde
 
What now represents the IRA has long ceased being pressure group for an All-Ireland.

A Belfastonian(?) colleague of mine tells me that the way they operate is now more like the mafia, controlling the trade in drugs, handing out punishment knee-cappings for grasses etc.

This bank raid appears to be consistant with their growth in power and wealth they have since they stopped trying to blow up mainland Britain concentrated their resources in Ulster.
 
The drug trade in the North of Ireland is actually a combined operation with a great deal of collaboration between the gangs of both "political/religious" hues
 
Whoever did commit the bank robbery will enter the Guinness Book of Records for the biggest waste paper theft of all time. The bank is now changing the colour and design of its bank-notes!
 
I doubt very much whether the IRA involves itself in the Drugs trade. Whether it accepts contributions from those who do, is another matter.
 
Mr Orde has obviously heard the same rumour as me that Crossmaglen AFC are preparing a £20m bid for Ronaldinho.
 
The problem that we have is remembering all the details of splinter groups. The least famous of these, the Irish National Liberation Army, whose gunmen shot dead loyalist terrorist leader, Billy Wright, in December 1997, according to experts is known as much or more for its participation in the drug trade and other criminal activities as it is for outright terrorism.
 
Is the INLA still active? I haven't seen any mention of them for a while - There was a little infighting spate before the Good Friday Agreement and not much more since. I had presumed they had disbanded.
 
I got engaged the day Billy Wright was shot.It was Welsh National day at Chepstow and I had gone for a big ante post touch on Indian somethingorother trained by Pipe to pay for the party.On the day he was well supported and the bet looked inspired but he faded badly and never won another race.I wouldn't be the type to rush into anything and a mere 4 years 8 months later I got married.
 
Melendez , what you said about the INLA still being active ? I'm not sure if they are but as one of the poor bastards who has to live in this country I would gladly fry all the splinter groups and as for the supposed main parties , although it make's me sick to have to negotiate with a bunch of terrorists on either side I'll do what it takes to have peace
 
Yes it was Indian Tracker -Garney.A great example of how making excuses for horses is an expensive habit.
 
Luke, you're a hilarious example (and I mean this in a nice way!) of racing fanaticisim. You remember it's Welsh National day when you got engaged, you rescue your beloved Racing Post when lying busted up on the ground... I've got to hand it to you, you truly live your life in the spirit of racing obsession!

By the way, all racecourses have been advised not to accept any Irish banknotes, particularly from bookies paying for their pitches! ("That's another foin mess you've got me into, O'Leary!")
 
Bertie Ahern claims that Sinn Fein leaders knew the IRA was planning Britain's biggest ever bank robbery at the same time that they were negotiating a peace deal with the British and Irish governments.

While I would normally agree with Ardross and Melendez on their "innocent until proved guilty" comments, in this case I don't. I'll explain why:

(1) We are not talking here about a named person or named persons, we are talking about a criminal organisation.

(2) A political statement, yes, but you can be sure that there is enough evidence to justify the claim even if there is not enough to convict individuals. In that case the statement had to be made as the alternative would have been to attempt continue the sham of talks.

(3) Much was made of the breakdown of negotiations when Paisley insisted on photograph evidence of weapons decommisioning and Sinn fein refused this. I happen to believe that Sinn Fein's alternative offers of witnesses to the destruction, including Paisley himself, was perfectly adequate. But there was little or no mention at the time that another sticking point was the IRA also failed to give an undertaking that all criminality would come to an end.
 
You can be sure that there is evidence there on the balance of probability. It would not be in the interests of Blair or Ahern to behave as they are without such evidence - this has destroyed what they have been working towards and what they got so close to. Whether there is yet any evidence beyond reasonable doubt against any particular individual so that a conviction can be obtained is a different issue.
 
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