Police say a major criminal investigation into the Drumcree and Garvaghy Road protest is gathering pace, with evidential files now being built against dozens of suspects.
Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck confirmed that a dedicated team of 30 officers, led by a senior investigating officer, is “methodically” reviewing more than 70 hours of footage linked to last month’s stand-off in Portadown.
He said police have so far built evidential packages in respect of 60 identified suspects. Eighteen of those individuals have already been interviewed, and case files are being prepared for submission to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) for decisions on whether to prosecute.
The operation forms part of what the PSNI has previously described as a large-scale criminal justice response to the unlawful protest and obstruction which prevented a Parades Commission–authorised Drumcree procession from travelling along the Garvaghy Road.
In last week’s High Court judgment on the judicial review brought by an Orange representative, the judge noted that police had put in place a “large-scale criminal investigation” into offences arising from the protest, with a phased prioritisation framework to assess suspects based on seriousness, risk and available evidence.
That ruling also recorded that police had an “evidence-gathering operation in place to detect any offences”, with a dedicated enquiry team established to review material and develop “an effective criminal justice strategy”.
Outlining the current position, ACC Beck said: “A team of 30 officers, led by an experienced Senior Investigating Officer, are methodically working through over 70 hours of recorded material and have now built evidential packages in respect of 60 identified suspects.
“Currently 18 of these suspects have been interviewed, and case files are now being prepared before being submitted to the Public Prosecution Service for prosecutorial decisions, in line with normal process.
“The investigation will continue in the coming weeks in line with the Criminal Justice Strategy put in place for this operation.
“As this is a live investigation, which is likely to be long-running, we won’t be making any further comment at this time.”
