A 51-year-old joiner and suspected member of the UVF in court on firearms charges following a police operation in Belfast last Wednesday.
June 13th, 2022.
Police at Houben Centre alert on March 25th
Robin Workman, with an address on the Shore Road in Larne, was charged with possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances on June 8.
Workman was further charged with possession of an 8mm blank calibre pistol, nine magazines and a quantity of ammunition.
He was also charged with possession of an airgun — namely an ME38 revolver Brocock .22, used, or designed or adapted for use, with a self-contained cartridge system — and a third charge of possession of a handgun, namely a 8mm blank calibre pistol, without holding a firearm certificate. A further charge alleged possession of a quantity of ammunition.
Workman, dressed in a grey sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm he understood the charges.
His lawyer contested the connection to the charges, saying it had been claimed in court during a previous hearing that Winston Irvine was acting as a “decommissioning” interlocutor and that he was there by prior arrangement.
On Saturday, Irvine, a leading loyalist, was remanded in custody after police found firearms and ammunition in a bag in the boot of his car.
The 46-year-old was denied bail by a judge at Belfast Magistrates’ Court.
Irvine had also been arrested on Wednesday by police investigating a security alert at an event attended by Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney in March.
Police said officers had planned to arrest him on an “unrelated matter” when they saw him opening and closing the boot of his vehicle shortly after a van, claimed to be driven by Workman, had parked behind him.
Irvine’s car was searched a short time later in the Shankill Road area.
Officers discovered two suspected firearms, magazines and more than 200 rounds of ammunition in a holdall in the boot, the court heard on Saturday.
The community worker told officers that he could not account for the bag in his boot, which contained the holdall.
The court heard that during five police interviews, lasting almost four hours, Irvine declined to comment.
The defendant told police that the items found in the orange Sainsbury’s bag after the search off the Shankill Road were nothing to do with him.
The court also heard that a number of UVF pins and pendants were found following a search of Irvine's home, as well as a balaclava.
The detective inspector told the court that police were objecting to bail on the grounds of the danger of further offences and interference with justice.
Workman was later stopped in Ballymena in his red van and arrested.
A joiner by trade, he claimed he was working at a building site on the Crumlin Road on the day in question.
CCTV shows Workman’s van close to “the handover” of the bag to Irvine. A mixed DNA profile from the handles of the holdall inside the plastic bag include Workman’s DNA profile, it was claimed.
Judge Mark McGarrity said he was satisfied that Workman could be connected to the case.
Police objected to bail on the grounds that it had “all the hallmarks of a paramilitary operation”.
Police say the magazine and ammunition described in court as “Nato ammunition” were compatible with assault rifles and police say they believe other weapons may still be in circulation.
Workman has declined to provide his access code to a mobile phone seized at the scene.
Workman’s lawyer, Paul Bacon, said that at interview it was put to his client that something was handed from the van but added that his client disputes that he is the person pictured on the CCTV.
The lawyer added that while his co-accused (Irvine) was found with items in his car, his client had not been in possession of any such items.
He also questioned the DNA evidence, which he said was inconclusive and linked four people to the bag and that there could be any number of explanations for his mixed DNA profile to be on a “movable” object.
“This man is a self-employed joiner with no criminal record whatsoever. He has never come to the attention of police before,” Mr Bacon said.
He added that there were “personal and private” items on his client’s phone that he did not want handed to police.
Mr McGarrity refused bail on the grounds of the seriousness of the case.
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