EIGHT men - six from Belfast and two from Dublin - were remanded in custody until March 14th by Belfast Magistrates Court yesterday on charges of armed robbery and false imprisonment.
A dozen RUC officers, some wearing flak jackets, lined the court. The men were charged with the theft of cigarettes worth £145,000 from Holmes wholesale depot at Boucher Road, Belfast, on Monday night, and with falsely imprisoning the depot key holder, his wife and another man.
They are Mr Seamus Hawkins (52), of Summerhill Gardens, Mr Michael Russell (24) of Falls Road, Mr Brendan McElkerney (35) of Ross Street, Mr Kevin McCalfrey (31) of Riverdale Park South Mr Martin Devlin (31) of Norglen Road, Mr Christopher Moran (38) of Rock Grove, all Belfast, and Mr Christie (31) of Ratoath Drive, Finglas, and Mr Derek Sweetman (37) of Dingle Road, Cabra, both Dublin.
