Lurgan security alert: Delivery man in white Audi forced to drive suspected improvised explosive device to PSNI station in 'absolutely terrifying' ordeal
A fast food delivery driver was put through an “absolutely terrifying ordeal” on Monday night when he was forced at gunpoint to drive a suspected improvised explosive device to Lurgan police station, a senior PSNI officer has said.
A major security alert is continuing in the town centre, with widespread disruption to traffic, businesses and local residents.
A controlled explosion has been carried out and investigations are being carried out to determine the viability of the device.
PSNI Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson described the hijacking as “a terrible throwback” to the past.
He outlined that at about 10.30pm, hijackers targeted a delivery driver in a white Audi car in the Deramore Drive area of Kilwilke.
"In a terrifying development the driver was forced to stop the vehicle and threatened at gunpoint.
"The hijackers placed an object inside the vehicle and the driver forced and threatened to drive to Lurgan police station, which they then did. They escaped the car and alerted our staff at the station as to what had happened,” ACC Henderson told the BBC.
"Since then there has been a significant policing operation that we’ve been co-ordinating overnight to make sure the car and contents of car are secure and safe.
"That has led to the evacuation of a number of homes in the area and we are really grateful to the local council for activating their rest centre to allow us to accommodate those folk who were affected by this.”
The senior PSNI officer said it was “clearly an absolutely terrifying ordeal for the poor man who was forced to drive the car” and the security alert continues to be “hugely disruptive and distressing event for the local community”.
He confirmed the specialist terrorism investigation unit has been leading the enquiry.
ACC Henderson urged anyone who can help with police investigations to come forward.
"Given we are in the throes of the investigation, those critical early first hours, if anyone who was in the Deramore Drive area of Lurgan saw anything suspicious, saw that white Audi, please contact us on 101 or on our online reporting system, quoting incident number 1828 of March 30. Anyone who can bring anything forward would be really helpful,” he said.
ACC Henderson said as investigations are at an early stage it was too early to tell if the device was viable.
"We fear it was an improvised explosive device. We’ll be able to do more to identify the viability of it, but clearly at this stage we are treating it as if it absolutely was until our investigations might tell us different.
"It’s a really sinister development, one that nobody will welcome in Lurgan or beyond and it’s a terrible throwback to the things we have seen in the past and we are determined, absolutely determined, to do everything in our power to bring those to justice who put that poor man what he was put through last night and also what they’ve done to the station and disrupting the community of Lurgan.”