Irish police probe more hoax bomb threats days ahead of major EU events

More hoax bomb threats were made today and Monday with more expected in the coming days, Ireland’s police chief has said, as authorities mount their largest-ever security operation ahead of major EU events.

Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly said that while there was “no credibility” behind recent bomb threats, the people responsible for them want to “sow discord” and “destabilise democracies”.

Mr Kelly said he believes the threats are coming from outside Ireland, and that the police force is working with Europol and international security partners to try to establish who is behind the bomb hoaxes.

There has been increased attention on so-called hybrid threats including bomb scares in the run-up to major events in the coming days as part of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Several Irish media outlets received hoax bomb threats last week, days after airlines, supermarkets and schools were also targeted with hoax bomb alerts.

Irish authorities have begun their largest-ever security operation as more than 50 world leaders visit Dublin for the European Political Community (EPC) summit on Thursday, followed by an informal meeting of the EU Council on Friday.

Speaking to reporters at a security briefing in Dublin on Tuesday, Mr Kelly said the police force has spent a lot time assessing risks, adding that there is a “whole myriad of threats”.

Mr Kelly said there were more hoax bomb threats on Tuesday morning.

“We saw some yesterday as well. It’s something that we certainly do anticipate in the coming days. Some of that is at quite early stages so I’m reluctant to talk too much about them because they’re actually quite live actions,” he said.

“These hoaxes last week, there was no credibility to any of them.

“The individuals or entities behind these is to sow discord, is to try and destabilise our democracies.”

The security operation will see thousands of gardaí deployed throughout the Irish capital.

There will be 100 specially trained motorcycle escort officers who will perform a minimum of 200 movements of VIPs, including heads of state.

Mr Kelly said there will be approximately 500 public order trained Garda members along with 500 officers of various disciplines, some of whom will carry firearms in various tactical roles in the form of emergency response and close protection.

Equipment including water cannons, public order dogs and horses will also be available for gardaí.

Police officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as well as officers from Lithuania and from Portugal will also be working in Dublin to support gardaí over the two days.

“These won’t be seen in frontline policing work. They’re all around very specialised work, counter-drone, explosive (search) dogs,” he added.

“There’s a whole myriad of threats that we are looking at, from hybrid to public order to general interference, and of course, we have seen a lot of the activity in the past week.

“We will be augmented by international police colleagues in a number of critical areas during the EPC.

“Under the EU presidency, we have procured new technology, new equipment, and new fleets for our gardaí, and these will all be utilised during the EPC.

“I fully appreciate that it will mean long hours for gardaí, and this has required sacrifices by them and their families.

“This has been an extraordinary year in terms of what has been asked from our gardaí.

“The next few days will not be easy. It will be a considerable challenge. There are a lot of moving parts, a lot of potential risks, and many variables.”

Mr Kelly said there will be a zero-tolerance approach to protests which are not peaceful, saying they will be dealt with “swiftly”.

“In relation to fuel protests themselves, there’ll be absolutely no toleration for any blockage, anything in the next few days, anything around motorways, critical infrastructure, or any of the EPC locations,” he added.

Assistant Commissioner Jonathan Roberts said he is aware of some people wishing to protest over Thursday and Friday.

“We have engaged with a number of parties, and I would ask that anybody that is minded and that wants to protest to engage with An Garda Síochána, and we will facilitate lawful, peaceful protest,” he added.

“We have nothing to suggest that any protest that is planned will be anything other than peaceful.

“As the commissioner has already said, there will be no tolerance for any protest which involves the blocking of roads, obstruction of any aspect of the event will be dealt with swiftly and robustly, and there will certainly be no tolerance of any interference with critical infrastructure.”