Businessman extorted to fund terrorism, court told

Two men appeared in court in Belfast today charged with extorting £10,000 sterling from a Chinese businessman on behalf of loyalist…

Two men appeared in court in Belfast today charged with extorting £10,000 sterling from a Chinese businessman on behalf of loyalist paramilitaries.

Thomas Spence (37), and William Alexander Robinson (40), appeared before Belfast magistrates accused of demanding money with menace and inviting the businessman to hand over the money for the purposes of terrorism.

The charges relate to investigations carried out by the serious and organised crime squad in south Belfast.

A detective constable told the court that, when questioned at Musgrave police station in Belfast, Mr Spence, a gas fitter from Posnett Court in Belfast, said "not guilty" to the first charge and "I don't understand the charge", to the second.

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Mr Robinson, unemployed and from Killaney Avenue, Lisburn, who was questioned at Antrim police station, said "totally not true" when the first charge was put to him and "definitely not true" to the second charge.

The detective said he believed the money was being collected on behalf of the Ulster Volunteer Force.

Mr Robinson's solicitor said his client had consistently denied all of the matters during police interview and said there was no mention of a paramilitary organisation during his dealings with the businessman.

Mr Spence's solicitor also put it to the detectives that no paramilitary organisation had been mentioned during interviews.

The police officer told the court: "The injured party believed they were paramilitaries and I believe I can link them to the charges on that basis."

He added that the businessman had been forced to hand over money on three separate occasions.

The pair were remanded in custody to appear again by video link on June 16th. Mr Robinson's solicitor said his client would be applying for High Court bail tomorrow.

PA