Dissidents jailed over PSNI recruitment event bomb
The device was discovered at the Waterfoot Hotel in Londonderry in 2015.
Two dissident republicans will each spend five years in prison after planting bomb at a PSNI recruitment event.
43 year old Darren Poleon and 35 year old Brian Walsh who are both from the Republic pleaded guilty earlier this year to a number of terrorism offences.
They have both received a five year custodial sentence with another five years on licence.
The pair planted a bomb in the grounds of the Waterfoot Fotel in Derry ahead of a PSNI recruitment event in 2015.
1.5kg of explosives was uncovered inside a fire extinguisher along with a detonating system.
Detectives believe Polean had made a reservation to stay at the hotel where he would hen have brought the device inside.
The pair were connected to the attempted bombing through a Sat Nav device that was analaysed after they were arrested in a separate incident when the car they were in was stopped by police for driving erratically.
It also provided a link to security alerts at a number of other locations where PSNI recruitment events were due to take place.
Detective Chief Inspector Gillian Kearney, from PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch, said: “These two men planted a viable explosive device in the grounds of a hotel ahead of a PSNI recruitment event at the Waterfoot Hotel on October 9.
"Their intention was undoubtedly to murder and seriously injure people as well as to deter people from pursuing a career in policing. They had no regard for the safety of anyone staying in or visiting this popular hotel.
"I’m thankful we were able to thwart their efforts as I have no doubt that if the device had exploded people would have been killed or at the very least seriously injured.”
She added: “I am pleased that the threat posed by these two dangerous individuals has been removed and they are now in prison.
“This investigation highlights the determination of our officers to keep people safe and we would ask communities to help us by providing police with any information they have about terrorist or criminal activity.