Three men were remanded in custody when they appeared in Longford District Court yesterday on charges relating to the hijacking of a lorry carrying vodka on Monday. They were Simon Maxwell (40) and his brother Thomas (42), with addresses in Co Westmeath, and Philip Hickey (43), Grennanstown, Athboy, Co Meath.
Judge John Neilan heard that the three were charged late on Monday night under Section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud) Act for handling stolen property. None of them had anything to say when charged.
The lorry carrying 22 pallets of vodka worth €300,000 was hijacked near Dunshaughlin at about 11am on Monday as it was being driven from Bailieborough to Dublin.
The court heard that Simon Maxwell, Killynon Cooke, Mullingar, was married with two children and ran a contracting business. His brother Thomas, from Stonehall, Multyfarnham, was described as being in the construction business, while Mr Hickey was described as a self-employed building sub-contractor. The court heard that he lived with his partner and child in Athboy, Co Meath.
Gardaí did not object to bail in the three cases and Judge Neilan set bail at a personal surety of €9,000 per man and an independent surety of €15,000 in each case.
However, none of the men met the cash requirement yesterday and they were remanded in custody to Castlerea prison. They will appear at a special sitting of Longford District Court at 11am next Tuesday.
Det Supt Michael Hoare requested a number of conditions, should bail be granted. Judge Neilan agreed and set a long list of bail requirements.
He said the men must reside at their addresses and not visit any licensed premises in their area. He set a nightly curfew from 10pm to 6am for all three and said they must not associate with other defendants in the case.
He said they must not interfere with any witnesses in the case and must not loiter around licensed premises or fast food outlets in the Mullingar area, and in the Trim area in the case of Mr Hickey. He ordered them to sign on at Garda stations four days a week. He also directed that Thomas Maxwell and Mr Hickey surrender their passports.
The court heard that Simon Maxwell did not have a passport and Judge Neilan ordered that he should not apply for one.
He said he would ask the Department of Foreign Affairs to refuse any requests for passports for any of the men unless leave was granted by the court.
The three were dressed casually in jeans, jumpers and jackets for their separate court appearances. None of them spoke during the hearings.
Mr Hickey pulled his hood over his face while Thomas Maxwell covered his face as they were being escorted to waiting Garda vans after the hearings.