Eglinton bomb: 'Traces of Semtex explosive' found on defendant's coat
A police officer has a told a court in Londonderry that traces of explosives were found on a coat worn by a man charged with attempting to murder a police officer.
Sean McVeigh, 35, from Victoria Street in Lurgan, County Armagh, is also accused of possessing Semtex explosives with intent to endanger life.
The police testimony was given during a bail application on Monday.
A Det Const said that traces of RDX were found on the defendant's coat and in the foot well of a car in which he was travelling before it was stopped and searched by gardaí (Irish police) in County Donegal.
The court heard that a forensic report into the traces was carried out by gardaí but that the forensic analysis was carried out in the PSNI laboratory.
The officer said the they had submitted an international letter of request to gardaí asking for the original report to be sent to the PSNI.
When the original report is received by police it would be disclosed to the defence.
The officer said police did not have permission to disclose to the defence the contents of the copied report.
A defence solicitor told the court that the contents of the copied report had been put to the defendant after his arrest and interview.
The solicitor said there was no mention in the report of the amount of RDX found.
He also said RDX was also a medical component and that it could have been innocently transferred.
The Det Const said there was also CCTV evidence and automatic number plate recognition evidence.
The judge said he had to balance the rights of the defendant, who could be in custody for up to two years before any trial, with his primary duty of protecting society.
He adjourned the bail application until 6 June to enable the prosecution and defence to resolve the issue relating to the absence of the original forensic reports.