PREVIOUSLY named in court as leader of the Real IRA in east Tyrone, Kevin Barry Murphy is among the most prominent republicans now charged as part of an MI5 covert operation.
When the Real IRA merged to become the New IRA, the 49-year-old was alleged to have taken an automatic leadership position on its 'army council'.
From Coalisland, he has been regarded as Teflon until now, having beaten a number of high-profile court cases.
In 2012 he was acquitted of charges in relation to a bomb-making factory discovered in south Armagh the previous year.
It was alleged his fingerprints were found on a coffee-grinder taken from the scene near Keady.
Detectives believed the grinder was linked to the bomb-making equipment which included the explosive Semtex.
However, the charges against Mr Murphy and four co-accused were withdrawn by the Public Prosecution Service.
He had served 14 months on remand by the time the case collapsed.
In February 2002, Murphy was accused of taking part in a plot to murder police.
Along with another man he was said to have been caught “red-handed” with an RPG rocket launcher by soldiers in a field near Coalisland.
However, the case collapsed after claims they were set up by alleged Real IRA informer Gareth O'Connor, whose body was dredged from a Newry river in 2005. It is believed he was killed by republicans.
Murphy was also acquitted of membership of the Real IRA after a judge ruled it was not an illegal organisation under the legislation at that time.
While this ruling was overturned by the Court of Appeal, it did not reverse his acquittal as the appeal was taken on a point of law.
In 2009, a leaked Northern Ireland Office ministerial document stated: "Kevin Barry Murphy has a long history of active involvement in republican terrorism having previously been a key member within the East Tyrone Brigade of the Provisional IRA.
“Murphy switched his allegiance to RIRA following PIRA's ceasefire and it is assessed that he continues to have a leading role in East Tyrone RIRA.”
Of the 10 people currently on remand facing terror charges linked to an MI5 undercover operation in Co Tyrone, Murphy is the most high profile and it is believed his imprisonment has greatly damaged the dissident republican grouping in east Tyrone.
