PSNI raids: A woman whose Derry home was searched by the PSNI as part of the police investigation into the Northern Bank robbery said yesterday that the search was a case of "mistaken identity".
Four premises were searched by PSNI officers late on Thursday night and in the early hours of yesterday morning. Two houses and a flat, which is situated above a Sinn Féin office at Strabane Old Road, were searched in the Waterside area and the home of Ms Elaine Anderson at Glendale Park in the Galliagh area of the city was also searched.
One of the houses searched, at Woodside Heights, is the home of Conor McLaughlin, one of the two Derry men arrested by gardaí in Dublin on Wednesday. The other Derry man arrested, Christopher McElhinney, was the man named on the search warrant used by the PSNI to search Ms Anderson's home.
"I don't know him. I've never heard of him. I've nothing to do with any political or any other organisation," said Ms Anderson.
"I live here with my partner and my six-year-old and four-year-old daughters. I've been living here for the last six years and I was the first occupant of the house. No-one else has lived here.
"The police surrounded my house and when they entered they gave the name of a man they were looking for. I told them I knew nothing about this person.
"They had a search warrant and they searched my flat, every room, every drawer and they also searched outside.
"They said they were looking for money that had been laundered and for fraudulent documents. I had to take my children out of bed and to a neighbour's house across the street because I didn't want them to see the police in the house in case it scared them.
"The police also had sniffer dogs. I told them the person named on the search warrant never had any connection with my address and they seemed to accept that it was a case of mistaken identity or of a mistaken address.
"However neighbours saw a man outside my home yesterday afternoon. He was a stranger and none of them knew him and he was with the police last night.
"My partner told me the police were here because it had to do with the Northern Bank robbery and they [ the PSNI] didn't contradict that. They also asked me if I had any large amounts of money in my home. I couldn't believe it", she said.
Meanwhile, no-one was available for comment at the Woodside Heights home of Conor McLaughlin, a taxi-driver, who was arrested with Mr Elhinney. The home, which has panoramic views of the River Foyle and of the Donegal hills, was occupied by a family relative yesterday morning.
During the police search of the flat above a Sinn Féin office in nearby Strabane Old Road, a group of youths threw stones at the police officers, one of whom was struck on the head. He was taken to Altnagelvin Hospital and was discharged after he was treated for concussion.
A PSNI spokesman said that "some documents and other items were seized during the searches and they will be examined by detectives".