Police are continuing to quiz a man arrested in Sunderland in connection with a major weapons haul in Northern Ireland.
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Detective Inspector Adrian Brown, from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), said the arrest operation involved officers from across the United Kingdom , including the Northumbria force.
“Officers from PSNI Serious Crime Branch, investigating an arms and explosives find in West Belfast on 18 September, assisted by Officers from North East Counter Terrorism Unit and Northumbria Police arrested a 45 year old man on Sunday, (20th September), in Sunderland”.
“This has been described as part of an investigation into ‘violent dissident terrorist activity, ‘ but I note that the haul included more than half a kilogram of Semtex”.
The weapons and explosives were found at a house on the Ballymurphy Road.
A 38-year-old woman and a 67-year-old man arrested after police seized explosives, guns and ammunition in West Belfast have been released without charge.
Ulster Unionist MP Tom Elliott also congratulated the police but said the discovery, including the explosive Semtex, raises many questions.
Semtex, first supplied by Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in Libya to the Provisional IRA (PIRA) in the 80s, was used in high-profile bombings in the early 90s, including of Bishopsgate and Canary Wharf in London.
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He added: “In light of the announcement by the Secretary of State of a new independently reviewed assessment of paramilitary organisations, these are exactly the type of questions which need to be answered”. “We would like to thank them for their patience and understanding during the operation”.
