Scottish Catholic Observer

Strathclyde Police arrested two men this morning in connection with letter bombs addressed to Celtic manager Neil Lennon.

Police said the two men, aged 41 and 43, were arrested this morning following raids at several properties in Kilwinning, 30 miles southwest of Glasgow. The men were held under the explosive substances act.

In recent weeks explosive devices have also sent to two prominent  Catholic Celtic supporters and a Republican supporters group. Royal Mail intercepted four devices in March and April addressed to Mr Lennon (above), his lawyer Paul McBride QC and former MSP Trish Godman. Another letter bomb, sent to Glasgow-based Irish republican group Cairde Na h’Éireann, was also discovered prior to delivery.

A Strathclyde Police spokesman said their operation in Kilwinning began at 6am, when officers armed with warrants entered a number of properties.

“I would expect that there will continue to be a fair amount of activity in this area throughout the day,” Chief Superintendent Ruaraidh Nicolson said said. “I appreciate that this may be inconvenient to people who want to go about their daily business. I can assure you that we will be doing everything we can to keep disruption to a minimum and to get the local area back to normal as quickly as possible.”

The raids come the morning after a man was detained in connection with an attempted assault on Neil Lennon on the pitch at Tynecastle during the Scottish Premier League game between Hearts and Celtic.

On Monday police arrested five men and two women at Celtic’s Lennoxtown training ground after a gun alert.