A BOMB was discovered on a lorry which was due to cross the Irish Sea by ferry on January 31, the day Britain sealed its exit from the European Union.
Police in Northern Ireland (PSNI) made the alarming discovery at an industrial estate in Armagh after a report that an explosive device was on a lorry in Belfast docks.
Said report sparked a two-day search, which involved the search of 400 vehicles, before officers eventually found a bomb attached to a heavy goods vehicle in the Silverwood Industrial Estate in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, last Wednesday.
Bomb disposal units were quickly called in to make it safe.
The ferry was then extensively searched for any other explosive devices, but nothing was found and the ferry sailed as planned.
Belfast DocksIt's understood the ferry travelled to Scotland.
PSNI terrorism investigators are blaming the bomb plot on "dissident republicans".
Detective Superintendent Sean Wright said: "It is clear from the information available to police that dissident republicans deliberately and recklessly attached an explosive device to a heavy goods vehicle in the full knowledge and expectation that it would put the driver of that vehicle, road users and the wider public at serious risk of injury and possible death.
"Had this vehicle travelled and the device had exploded at any point along the M1, across the Westlink or into the harbour estate, the risks posed do not bear thinking about.
"The only conclusion that we can draw is that once again dissident republicans have shown a total disregard for the community, for businesses and for wider society."
Detective Superintendent Wright said he wanted to hear from anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the industrial estate between 4pm and 10pm on January 31, the day the UK left the EU.
"In addition I ask that anyone who was driving in the area and who would have dash-cam footage around these same times that they contact police, as a matter of urgency," he said.
