Missing man 'was police agent'

Gareth O'Connor has been missing since May

A missing County Armagh man was a police informer who lured four men into a trap, it was alleged at Belfast Crown Court.

Gareth O'Connor from Armagh city has been missing since May.

The four men were arrested at Coalisland, County Tyrone, in May, 2002, when a primed rocket launcher was seized by police lying in wait.

The four are Donald Mullan, 33, of Fairmount Park, Dungannon; Brendan O'Connor, 25, of Cavanoneill Road, Pomeroy; Sean Dillon, 26, of Roughan Way, Coalisland; and Kevin Barry Murphy, 33, of Altowen Park, Coalisland.

They are due to stand trial next month on a charge of conspiring to murder members of the security forces.

Mr O'Connor's name emerged during an application on Tuesday by the four men's lawyers to change the nature of their defence.

Their lawyers said they were lured to a field by Mr O'Connor to carry out a burglary and had not been in possession of the rocket launcher.

A barrister for one of the defendants said it was the defence belief that Mr O'Connor had been acting as some form of police agent on the night of the arrests.

The court heard that the police believed Mr O'Connor had been abducted and murdered.

The Crown is expected to apply for a Public Interest Immunity Certificate to withhold certain information which may be heard at the four men's trial "in the interests of national security".

Missing

Mr O'Connor, 24, from Armagh city, has not been seen since 11 May last year, when he failed to report to Dundalk police station in the Irish Republic as part of his bail conditions.

Mr O'Connor had been remanded on a charge of being a member of the Real IRA.

He has not been found, despite searches on both sides of the border.

Last September, the Provisional IRA issued a statement denying it had killed him.

However, both the O'Connor family and Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde have said they believe the republican paramilitary group did murder him.