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A 45-year old man who was caught with information likely to be useful to terrorists has been given a two-and-a-half year sentence.

The information included a handwritten note containing the vehicle registration mark of a serving soldier and digital images of both an improvised firearm and of Enniskillen Police Station.

Gabriel Paul Meehan was arrested after his home was searched following security alerts in County Fermanagh.

Meehan, from Meelmore Drive in Omagh, pleaded guilty to a charge of collecting or making a record of information likely to be useful to terrorists on dates between 15 March and 7 May, 2021.

Sentencing him at Belfast Crown Court, Mr Justice O'Hara spoke of Meehan's "total absence of remorse".

At the time of the offence Meehan lived in Irvinestown, County Fermanagh.

'On the front line'

The court was told that following his arrest, he voiced support for dissident republican violence and told a probation officer that while not being actively involved, if the need arose he would be "one of the first on the front line".

Justice O'Hara said that on 15 March, 2021 a call was made to the Impartial Reporter newspaper by a man claiming to represent the North Fermanagh Continuity IRA.

The caller said shots had been fired at Enniskillen Police Station and a device left at Shore's Pass.

Later that evening, the PSNI released a statement saying nothing untoward had been found and there had been no reports of shots being fired.

A day later, police tracking Meehan's movements observed him near the Territorial Army centre in Enniskillen.

The vehicle registration number of a soldier who drove out of the centre was later found in Meehan's possession when his home was searched later that month.

He was also seen in the Lough Shore Path area of Enniskillen close to the police station on 16 March and the following day, a call was made to the Irish News detailing the location of an item in that area.

When the location was searched by police the following day, officers located an improvised firearm.

Meehan's County Fermanagh home was searched on 30 March and a piece of paper with the soldier's vehicle registration was found hidden in a void within an internal door.

'Sympathy for use of violence'

His home was searched again on 6 May, 2021 and on this occasion two mobile phones were seized.

Found on these phones were images of the improvised weapon in the exact spot it was located by the PSNI on 17 March and in the same place Meehan had been seen at the previous day.

Also found on the phone were photographs of Enniskillen Police Station as well as images and messages which the judge said "revealed his support and sympathy for the use of violence to achieve a united Ireland".

Meehan - who has already spent 10 months in custody - will serve two thirds of his sentence in jail before his release is considered by parole commissioners.

Following his release, he will spend an additional year on licence.

Following the sentence, Det Supt Griffin of the PSNI's Terrorism Investigation Unit said officers from the unit "remain totally committed to investigating and disrupting terrorist activity."

"Our aim will always be to protect communities and keep people safe from harm, and we will continue, with your support, to tackle those intent on bringing weapons and violence to our doorstep," they added.