Steel spikes have been scattered at a wind farm near the Border in the latest development in an apparent campaign of intimidation against companies formerly owned by the businessman Seán Quinn.
Up to 20 spikes were found at the Slieve Rushen wind farm which straddles the Cavan-Fermanagh border hours after an alleged explosion was heard close to the offices of Quinn Industrial Holdings Limited (QIHL).
Both the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Garda are investigating the incident at the wind farm, now owned by Platina Partners.
A source said the spikes were designed to cause tyres to blow out and “cause serious damage, hurt, or even kill someone depending on where they are placed”.
Many of the spikes were placed on a steep hill, close to the Quinn cement factory. “If the security workers had driven over these spikes they would have easily lost control of their vehicles and would have ended up in the quarry...This could have been lethal,” the source said.
Commenting on the discovery of the spikes, Patricia Gilheany of Concerned Irish Citizens, a pro-Quinn lobby group, said: “The dispute between local landowners and the wind farm owners is absolutely nothing to do with Seán Quinn and is simply a diversionary tactic from the central mandate.”
The group, which is calling for Mr Quinn to regain control of his former empire, have described the situation as a “war on the mountain.”
The Ulster Unionist Party’s Alastair Patterson said those responsible “have to be condemned”.
“The continued dangerous activity in this area shows there are some who are intent on causing serious damage and destruction to livelihoods and lives,” he said.
It is the latest in a long line of serious incidents including death threats, acts of sabotage, discovery of bullets, chilling notes and signs warning executives that they ‘face the gun’. Last week it emerged that a pig’s head had been dumped outside the home of a member of QIHL.