"Stop and search" of IRA accused unlawful, defence argue

Two men from County Sligo have had their vehicle stop and search challenged as unlawful at the Special Criminal Court. Julian Flohr, aged 37, of Rusheen Ard, Caltragh, and Damhan McFadden, aged 29, of Kilmacowen, Ballysadare, face charges of membership of an unlawful organisation on 14 August 2016. A mortar round was recovered from their vehicle near Dromahair in County Leitrim. During a voir dire hearing, defence counsel argued that gardaí provided inconsistent accounts of why the car was stopped and that the lawfulness of the search remained unproven. They submitted that the prosecution had failed to establish credible grounds for the stop. The prosecution contended the gardaí's evidence was consistent and that reasonable suspicion of drugs offences only formed after the vehicle was stopped. The three-judge court, presided over by Mr Justice Tony Hunt, reserved judgment on the admissibility of the search.