Bullets sent to Celtic manager intercepted by postal staff

Packages containing bullets have been sent from Northern Ireland to Celtic manager Neil Lennon and player Niall McGinn, it emerged yesterday.

The packages, addressed to the men, were intercepted by staff at the Royal Mail sorting office in Mallusk, County Antrim, last week. The mail was bound for Celtic Football Club in Glasgow.

Police in Northern Ireland said officers were called to Mallusk office on 5 January after postal workers reported suspicions about two items of mail.

The items were removed for further examination, and police are investigating the incident.

A spokesman for Celtic said: "It is now a police matter and the club has no further comment to make."

Police are investigating the incident and have asked anyone with information to come forward.

Lennon, from Lurgan in County Armagh, is a former Celtic captain and Northern Ireland international. He has received death threats in the past, and in 2002 withdrew from a Northern Ireland game against Cyprus after a reported threat from a paramilitary group. In 2008, he was hospitalised after being assaulted in Glasgow.

Celtic winger McGinn, from Tyrone, is also a Northern Ireland international player. He has never been targeted with threats before.