Gabriel Mackle, 39, refused bail at Craigavon Magistrates Court after police found ammo and liquid mercury in his rucksack

A dissident republican suspect has been remanded in custody on terrorism charges following a surveillance operation.

Gabriel Martin Aloysius Mackle, from Glebe Hill Manor in Tandragee, was stopped by police in Lurgan on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old was riding his motorbike when he was halted by police who had been monitoring his movements following an intelligence report.

Craigavon Magistrates Court heard officers discovered 20 rounds of ammunition and a bottle containing liquid mercury in a rucksack Mackle was wearing.

A detective from the PSNI’s Serious Crime Branch said liquid mercury could be used as part of a trigger mechanism for an under-car booby trap (UCBT) bomb device.

The officer added that Mackle had refused to speak throughout two days of questioning at the serious crime suite in Antrim.

A district judge refused bail and Mackle was remanded in custody to Maghaberry prison to appear again in court via video link next month.