Murder accused at diesel laundering operation when garda shot, court told

A labourer who denies the capital murder of Detective Garda Adrian Donohoe was loading waste from laundered diesel at the time of the shooting, the Central Criminal Court has heard.

In a notice of alibi supplied to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and dated February 17th, 2020, Aaron Brady gave the address of a yard on Concession Road in Cullaville, Co Armagh.

He said he spent between 90 minutes and two hours there loading “diesel waste cubes” onto a truck on the evening of January 25th, 2013, around the time when Det Donohoe was shot.

The accused said he had previously given gardaí an untrue account of his movements out of fear he might incriminate himself over diesel laundering.

Mr Brady (29), from New Road, Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Det Donohoe (41) shortly before 8.30pm on January 25th, 2013 at Lordship Credit Union, Bellurgan, Co Louth.

Mr Brady has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of robbing some €7,000 in cash and assorted cheques on the same date at the same location.

Under cross examination, Det Insp Mark Phillips told defence counsel Michael O’Higgins SC that a notice of alibi had been served to the DPP. He agreed that gardaí were aware of the alibi since December 20th last.

Insp Phillips read the notice of alibi in which Mr Brady said that on February 5th and 6th, 2013, he attended Dundalk Garda station and gave a voluntary statement detailing his movements on the night Det Donohoe was shot.

Reluctant

While giving that statement he said his solicitor told gardaí that he was reluctant to account for his movements for fear that he might be prosecuted.

Gardaí assured him that all they wanted was a true account and agreed that they would not include anything about diesel in his statement. But Mr Brady said he was still unsure of whether he would incriminate himself.

He then told gardaí that he was at the yard on Concession Road where he was supposed to load purple cubes of laundered diesel onto a truck but was unable to do so because he could not get the forklift to start and left without loading any cubes. This was not correct, he stated in the alibi notice.

He said he had been told by two men to load as many cubes as possible. When he arrived, he said, he “hopped” over the gate and into the yard, which he said was in “complete darkness”.

He began loading two cubes at a time, placing them on the floor of the lorry and that the process took about 90 minutes to two hours “due to rough terrain and poor lighting and the forklift cutting out due to poor weather conditions”.

He later contacted the people who asked him to load the cubes to tell them he loaded as many as he could.

Insp Phillips agreed with Mr O’Higgins that the accused has previously received a 12-month sentence for criminal damage, dangerous driving and unauthorised taking of a vehicle. He said this was Mr Brady’s only custodial sentence.

‘Republic stronghold’

The Brady family, he said, is from Monaghan originally and his father is a physio for Crossmaglen Rangers. He agreed that Crossmaglen is known as a “Republican stronghold” and some people there are suspicious of authority and that there are reports of “diesel activity” along the border.

He further agreed that people would be reluctant to discuss diesel laundering with the gardaí and “doubly reluctant” for that to be public knowledge. He said a person’s personal safety could be compromised if it was known they were talking about it.

Asked if there were “massive profits” to be made, he said diesel laundering is done for profit.

The trial continues.