A man who falsely reported that a bomb had been planted at Stirling’s Islamic Centre was this week jailed for two years and six months.
Keith Smyth, of Cowie, had made the claim, on the night of June 20 last year, that a bomb was likely to explode at the Burghmuir Road centre the next morning - and followed it up two days later by again falsely claiming bombs were likely to explode at Govan Police Station, Glasgow, and at Glenochil Prison, Clackmannanshire.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard that an “extensive” police search had been carried out without result at Govan Police Station and that Glenochil Prison had been placed in lockdown and members of the public turned away.
Forty-eight-year-old Smyth – who appeared at Stirling Sheriff Court from Low Moss Prison by videolink on Wednesday – admitted a charge under the Criminal Law Act 1977 section 51: communicating ‘with the intent of inducing a false belief that a bomb was liable to explode or ignite.’
Smyth had emailed about the Govan Police Station matter and followed it up with an email and phone call about Glenochil Prison, both on June 22. These communications had been made from an address at Cowie’s Tam O’Shanter Drive.
The fiscal depute told the court that Smyth had staggered towards a pedestrian on Cowie Main Street at 11.45pm on June 20 and told him he wanted to use his phone to call the police. Unwilling to hand over his phone the man called the number.
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Once through, Smith told the call handler that he wished to report a bomb threat at the Islamic Centre the following day and pointed to a Northern Irish paramilitary organisation before repeatedly stating it was a threat.
Smyth also contacted the authorities by email in relation to Govan Police Station and Glenochil Prison on June 22.
In one communication, Smyth stated: ‘It’s the Irish mafia again. It’s about time police started listening to us.’
In a phone call he made reference to a nail bomb at Glenochil Prison and a ‘push detonator’.
The fiscal depute said Smyth was arrested after being assessed by a mental health nurse as being of “full capacity”.
After being taken to Falkirk Police Office Smyth indicated that he understood the charge.
Smyth’s agent Frazer McCready told Sheriff Keith O’Mahony that his client had been brought up in Northern Ireland during The Troubles and had been diagnosed with PTSD as a result of things he had experienced when growing up.
He said he could not provide an explanation why Smyth had targeted the Islamic Centre.
The court heard that there were previous convictions relating to similar conduct on Smyth’s criminal record.
Sheriff O’Mahony told Smyth that there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.
He sentenced Smyth to 30 months’ imprisonment - reduced from 36 months’ due to his guilty plea - backdated to July 12, 2022.
