The armed hijacking of a lorry carrying €300,000 worth of vodka in Co Meath on Monday has been strongly condemned by Sinn Féin's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness.
"Let me unreservedly condemn the attempted hijacking of a truck in Co Meath," the Sinn Féin leader declared yesterday.
"Our view is that anyone involved in activity of this nature, no matter what political party they support, needs to be arrested, charged and brought to court before a jury of his peers.
"Republicans should not be immune from prosecution. We are just like anybody else. If we break the law, we should be arrested, charged and prosecuted before a judge and a jury.
"That is a very straightforward position," said Mr McGuinness."
Rejecting criticisms levelled by the Democratic Unionist Party's Jeffrey Donaldson, he said: "I think Jeffrey is missing the point. The IRA had no hand, act or part in the raid in Co Meath. That will become clear as the days progress.The IRA was not involved."
Sinn Féin was not responsible for ensuring that all people of a republican viewpoint were not involved in crime of any kind," Mr McGuinness stated.
People from other political parties have been jailed over the years for a variety of crimes: "It is not my responsibility to deal with that. It is the Minister for Justice's responsibility and the Garda's responsibility," he added.
