Write a comment600lbs of home made explosives found in the back of a Citroen Berlingo van on the Fathom Line just outside Newry have been made safe.
At a Press Conference earlier today Chief Superintendent Alasdair Robinson noted that "there is no doubt that it was completely reckless to have this device anywhere near human life"
The device consisted of two blue barrels in the back of the vehicle, each containing 125kg of home made explosives and a detonator.
The bomb was twice the size of the device that exploded at Newry Courthouse two years ago causing substantial damage to property in the area and Chief Superintendant Robinson noted that "anyone within 50 metres of this device would have been killed and anyone within 100 metres seriously injured" had it exploded.
The suspicious vehicle was reported by a member of the public on Thursday and resulted in the PSNI and the Garda Síochána closing the Carlingford to Newry road for over 24 hours.
It's the third substantial security alert in the past few weeks and as with the others it remains unknown where the device was ultimately meant for or why it was abandoned.
