Finito allarme bomba al Community Restorative Justice Ireland di West Belfast

West Belfast alert ‘a hoax’

A security alert, sparked in west Belfast after the discovery of a suspect object at a community group’s office, has been declared “a hoax” by police.

Army bomb officers and police attended the scene on Tuesday morning outside Community Restorative Justice Ireland‘s office on Andersonstown Road.

A number of businesses and homes in the vicinity were evacuated and Andersonstown Road was closed at its junction with Dunmisk Park, Moorland Park, Slemish Way and St. Agnes’s Drive.

However, the device was later confirmed as “a hoax” by police and the road has now re-opened.

Harry Maguire, acting director of Community Restorative Justice Ireland, said the device was left on the front shutter of the office.

“We have had many sorts of threats levelled against us through different sources over the years because of the work we do,” he said.

“We’re a community conflict resolution group that challenges crime and anti-social behaviour and we would see ourselves being targeted because of that work.”

He described the organisation as “a dialogue group” which challenged negative behaviour within the community including drug dealing and sex crime investigations.