Irish man calls in fake ISIS bomb threat to avoid going to work

A Irish man who urged his friend to phone in a bomb threat so he could avoid going to work is facing 200 hours of community service.

Last January, 20-year-old Aaron O'Neill was reportedly out on a drink-fuelled bender with his friend Colin Hammond when he decided he didn't want to go into work the next day. Instead of just pulling a sickie, O'Neill convinced Hammond to phone in a bomb threat claiming to be from ISIS. The call was placed from a payphone outside Hammond's home. The two friends managed to shut down a motorway, as well as air traffic control, and prevented 4,000 staff from getting into work. https://twitter.com/TodayFMNews/status/555270289110872064 According to The Irish Times, Hammond told the operator there were bombs located at the offices of American technology company Intel which would "go off in 12 hours."

"You will not find them. This is a warning, we're everywhere now," Hammond told emergency services. When asked who was making the call, he replied: "Islamic State."

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Hammond's case was dealt with last month and Judge Martin Nolan handed down a sentence of 200 hours' community service in lieu of a custodial sentence.

He described Hammond - who was caught when he was brought to a police station for refusing to pay a taxi fare and the police officer recognised his voice from the call - as "profoundly stupid."

Now Judge Nolan must sentence O'Neill next month, and suggested he would be handed a similar sentence.

"It is a very, very strange way to avoid going to work," Judge Nolan said.