LEADING loyalist Winston ‘Winkie’ Irvine and a co-accused have pleaded guilty to firearm and ammunition offences.
Irvine (49), of Ballysillan Road in north Belfast and Robin Workman (53) of Shore Road in Larne, Co Antrim, were due to go on trial on Monday at Belfast Crown Court in front of a judge sitting alone without a jury.
However, following legal discussions, Irvine’s counsel Brenda Campbell KC and Michael Borrelli KC for Workman both made applications for their clients to be re-arraigned on all charges they faced.
Standing in the dock flanked by prison officers, both men entered guilty pleas that they possessed firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.
They also admitted two counts of possessing a handgun without a certificate, one count of possessing ammunition without a certificate, possessing a prohibited weapon and possessing a firearm without a certificate.
Workman further pleaded guilty to possessing a .177 calibre air rifle without holding a firearm certificate.
All of the offences were committed on June 8 2022.
The defendants had previously pleaded not guilty to all the charges when they were first arraigned in August this year.
Judge Gordon Kerr KC said that as the offences automatically passed the custody threshold, Irvine and Workman were entitled to have pre-sentence reports prepared on them by the Probation Board NI.
Both Ms Campbell and Mr Borrelli said they would not be seeking pre-sentence reports for their clients ahead of sentencing and would be furnishing the court with their own documents in due course.
Judge Kerr asked the defence counsels: “As I have said, these offences have passed the custody threshold, I take it you want your clients to remain on bail ahead of sentencing?”
The senior defence counsels replied “yes”.
There were no objections from the prosecution to the defendants remaining on bail.
“I will continue their bail on the same terms,” said Judge Kerr.
“But they have to be aware of the fact that that might not be the result when they come back.”
Irvine and Workman will be sentenced on January 23 2025.
No details were given in court on circumstances surrounding the offences.
But at previous court hearings it was alleged that Workman transported a quantity of weapons and ammunition to the Glencairn area of Belfast in his van, which the PSNI believed were then put into the boot of Irvine’s Volkswagen Tiguan car.
Irvine’s vehicle was stopped in Disraeli Street and when the boot was searched two suspected pistols, an air gun, magazines and over 200 rounds of ammunition were discovered inside a leather holdall.
Belfast Magistrates Court heard in June this year that police identified Mr Irvine in a parked car in the area on June 8, 2022.
He was observed in conversation with Workman before closing the boot of his car and driving off, a Crown lawyer told the court.
A short time later police detained Mr Irvine and when asked if there was anything in the car he could not account for, Irvine replied “bag in the boot”.
A long-barrelled firearm, two suspected pistols, several magazines, and a large quantity of ammunition were discovered inside a holdall in the boot.
