A Lisburn man charged with intimidating vehicle recovery firms contracted by the PSNI has been granted bail. Michael Claxton, 33, of Gregg Street, faces charges of intimidation, communicating false information about explosions, and possessing cocaine with intent to supply.

Prosecutors stated the firms, operating in Greater Belfast and Bangor areas to handle damaged or broken-down vehicles, received hoax bomb threats on January 31 and February 2. Calls to Samaritans and Crimestoppers claimed devices were planted at four premises, with detonation timings provided. One call attributed the threats to a republican group. No viable devices were found.

CCTV footage from Lisburn public phone boxes showed Claxton and a co-defendant in a hired car at the times of the calls. DNA evidence indicated the co-defendant entered the booths to make the calls while Claxton stayed in the vehicle.

Police arrested the pair on February 4 as they returned the rental car and seized three mobile phones. Messages on the phones showed evidence of drug dealing and requests to both men. Officers later found 300g of suspected cocaine in a lunchbox at a house linked to Claxton.

Crown counsel Adrian Higgins told the court the case involves a joint enterprise. He noted some suspected devices required detonation by bomb disposal experts. Defence barrister Patrick Taylor contested evidence placing Claxton in the phone booths or owning the phones.

Madam Justice McBride granted bail with conditions, including a ban on entering within 100 metres of the recovery premises, a night-time curfew, and no use of public phones. One firm has ended its PSNI contract. Voice recognition software will examine Samaritans recordings.