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A 45-year-old man from north Belfast has admitted to charges connected to a loyalist bomb hoax targeting former Tánaiste Simon Coveney. Darren James Service, residing on Ballysillan Road, appeared at Belfast Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to some of the offenses he was facing.
Service’s trial was initially scheduled to commence on 7 September. However, during the court session, his senior defense lawyer, Joseph O’Keefe KC, requested that Service be re-arraigned on two of the three counts he had previously denied. Subsequently, Service admitted to hijacking a Vauxhall Vivaro van and placing an item that caused a bomb hoax at the Houben Centre, located within Holy Cross Church on Crumlin Road, on 25 March 2022. The prosecution accepted these guilty pleas as appropriate.
The Crown prosecutor also asked to keep the charge of preparing terrorist acts on the court records but not to proceed with it unless permitted by the court or the Court of Appeal. Judge Gordon Kerr KC ordered a Multi-Agency Review Arrangements (MARA) report to be prepared by the Department of Justice regarding Service and set the plea and sentencing hearing for 4 November. Ahead of this hearing, O’Keefe said he plans to submit updated medical documentation on his client. Meanwhile, Service has been released on continuing bail as the case progresses.
Earlier details presented during a prior bail application described the incident on 25 March 2022, where two masked men forced a workman to transport a device placed in his van to a peace-building event attended by Coveney at the Houben Centre. Upon the van driver alerting police to the suspicious device, the venue was evacuated, leading to what was ultimately recognized as a bomb hoax. According to the prosecution, Service had driven the masked men to the scene. Furthermore, it was stated that these acts, attributed to the UVF, constitute terrorist offenses. During a search of Service’s home following the incident, police recovered £100,000 inside a safe, along with balaclavas, a replica firearm, UVF insignia, and luxury watches. Notably, a mobile phone belonging to Service remains missing after 19 months of his remand period
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