Five cases heard in our courts this week

One man is facing attempted murder charges after an arson attack on a busy bar in Northern Ireland

As we head into another weekend, the courts have had yet another busy week, despite summer recess.

Heard in our courts this week was several cases, including one where two Chinese nationals who smuggled cannabis worth £9 million from Manchester to Northern Ireland hidden in wooden flooring were jailed.

One court also heard how a man facing attempted murder charges after an arson attack on a busy bar allegedly shouted “trick or treat” before throwing a lit petrol bomb directly at two people inside.

Here’s five cases heard in courts this week, August 18-22:

Men jailed after smuggling £9m drugs into NI via wooden flooring

Two Chinese nationals who smuggled cannabis worth £9 million from Manchester to Northern Ireland hidden in wooden flooring have been jailed.

Yudong Ouyang, 32, and Gary Hon, 26, living in Manchester, were cultivating large crops of cannabis in the city and using HGVs to transport it by ferry to Northern Ireland where they knew they could charge a premium price.

The pair were using encrypted messaging platforms between June 2019 and February 2020, where they organised secreting the drugs in large pallets of wooden flooring.

Read more here.

Doorman who used cloned license convicted of fraud

A fraud conviction for a doorman who used a cloned security license at a bar in Co Derry has been welcomed by the UK’s private security regulators.

Martin McAuley, a 52-year-old with an address listed on court papers as McAuley Park in Ballycastle, was convicted on August 1 of fraud, after he was found to be working at the Railway Arms in Coleraine using a cloned Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence.

By law, security staff working under contract must hold and display a valid SIA licence. Martin McAuley has been ordered to pay fines and levies worth £515.

Read more here.

Man ‘shouted trick or treat’ before throwing petrol bomb, court told

A man facing attempted murder charges after an arson attack on a busy bar in Northern Ireland allegedly shouted “trick or treat” before throwing a lit petrol bomb directly at two people inside, a court has heard.

John Patrick Nixon, 38, appeared before a district judge in Newry, Co Down on Wednesday accused of two counts of attempted murder in relation to the incident in Armagh city on Monday evening.

Nixon, who spoke briefly to confirm his name, date of birth and that he understood the charges, is also charged with several other offences alleged to have been committed on the same day, including criminal damage to property and a vehicle elsewhere in Armagh earlier that evening.

Read more here.

Woman admits fraud over account meant for nursing home fees

A West Belfast woman admitted defrauding a female of over £76,000 on Thursday.

Maria Smyth, 54, of Lagmore Meadows appeared at Belfast Crown Court for an arraignment hearing on a single charge she faced of fraud by abuse of position.

The charge stated that between April 1, 2017 and January 1, 2022, she defrauded a woman by abuse of her position and “dishonestly misappropriated money, namely £76,433, held in a Post Office account” belonging to the victim.

Read more here.

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