The trial of five East Belfast men accused of a £1 million sterling tobacco theft was told yesterday that forensic evidence linked four of them to the place the stolen goods were found. The trailer lorry containing the tobacco products belonging to Imperial Tobacco Ltd, disappeared from Belfast docks on the morning of August 27th last year. It was found an hour later at a disused warehouse in the north of the city. Eight men were arrested near the warehouse, but denied any connection with the lorry.
The five in the dock are Mr Derek Lammey (34), Spring Place; Mr Eric Duncan Buchanan (36), Glenview Heights; Mr Raymond Morton (40), Templemore Close; Mr Stephen Matthews ( 36), Cuba Walk; and Mr William Brannigan (32), Jonesborough Park, all Belfast.
They are accused of the theft of the tobacco and a second count of handling stolen goods.