Two men remanded in custody oveer £6,000 blackmail plot

TWO men have faced a court on Saturday charged with blackmailing £6,000 from a businessman.

William Ian Robinson, 36, and David Andrew Kealey, 33, are accused of demanding money with menaces the businessman, known only as ‘Witness A’ on dates between December 16, 2013 and January 17, 2014.

The pair were further charged with intimidating the man from his home on the same dates.

The men were remanded in custody after no application for bail was made.

Robinson, from Beechwood Drive, Ballymoney, and Kealey, from Burnside Park, Coleraine, were detained as part of a proactive investigation carried out by the PSNI’s Serious and Organised Crime Branch, the court heard.

Officers raided a number of properties in Co Antrim on Friday following a month long surveillance operation.

Three people were arrested and a car was seized during the police operation.

A 35-year-old woman who was arrested during the operation was released on police bail pending further enquiries.

A detective constable told Ballymena Magistrates’ Court on Saturday he believed he could connect the accused to the charges.