A 3.2-tonne IRA explosive cache intercepted in London in 1992 exceeded the Baltic Exchange bomb load and could have caused massive destruction.
Key Facts
- Explosives seized
- 3.2 tonnes tonnes
- Date of interception
- 14 November 1992
- Location
- Stoke Newington Road, Shacklewell, London
- Officer injured
- PC Raymond Hall, shot twice
- Man arrested
- Patrick Kelly, Irish lorry driver, Provisional IRA
- Coinciding event
- Lord Mayor's Show, 14 November 1992
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Provisional IRA was conducting a bombing campaign in England in 1992, including the Baltic Exchange attack. The organisation assembled a large consignment of explosives, loaded onto a Volvo lorry, apparently intended for a major attack in London, though the precise target was never established by investigators.
In the early hours of 14 November 1992, police stopped a Volvo lorry on Stoke Newington Road during a routine check and discovered 3.2 tonnes of explosives along with detonation material. The occupants fled; Constable Raymond Hall gave chase and was shot twice. One man, Patrick Kelly, a Provisional IRA member alleged to have been driving the lorry, was subsequently arrested.
Metropolitan Police Anti-Terrorist Branch seized the largest IRA explosive cache discovered in England to that point, preventing a potentially catastrophic attack. The intended target was never publicly confirmed. Kelly faced prosecution, and the incident intensified security operations against IRA logistics networks operating on the British mainland.