Two arrested over ‘New IRA weapons haul’

Some of the weapons found earlier this month in the Rodney Drive area of west Belfast. Credit: PSNI

A man and woman have been arrested under the Terrorism Act by detectives investigating a significant weapons haul recovered in west Belfast.

Guns and ammunition were found in a boiler house in the Rodney Drive area, after some of the rounds exploded during a fire on 14 November.

At the time, police said it “beggared belief” that anyone would store bombs and bullets on top of a hot boiler and that “anyone with an ounce of sense” would know that was a recipe for disaster.

The haul, which police believes belongs to a group calling itself the New IRA, included:

  • two AK-47 assault rifles

  • two sawn-off shotguns

  • a high-power rifle with silencer

  • three pipe bombs

  • over 100 rounds of live ammunition

Police believe the AK47s may have been used in two separate dissident attacks on police - one in the Rossnareen Avenue area of west Belfast in November 2015 and the other on a garage forecourt on the Crumlin Road in north Belfast in January 2017.

In the first attack, a police patrol car was riddled with bullets.

Armoured plating and bulletproof glass was credited with saving the lives of the two officers who were inside the vehicle when they were ambushed.

In the second attack, a policeman survived despite being shot three times in the arm when gunmen opened fire on him as he got out of a parked police car at the Crumlin Road garage.

Officers said it was miracle no members of the public were also shot as bullets flew across the busy petrol station forecourt.

Some rounds of ammunition exploded during a fire in the boiler house used for storage. Credit: PSNI

On Monday, two suspects – a 31-year-old man and 33-year-old woman – were arrested in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast on suspicion of dissident republican activity.

They were taken to Musgrave Serious Crime Suite for questioning and the woman has since been released unconditionally.

Police say a number of items were also seized during searches of two properties in the area, including a small quantity of suspected Class B drugs.

PSNI Detective Chief Inspector Stuart Griffin said: “We will continue to disrupt the activities of those who wish to terrorise the community with their twisted ideologies so that people can live without fear.”