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Man to appear in court over semtex discovery in Belfast Man remanded in custody over semtex and weapons discovery in Belfast
(about 3 hours later)
A 45-year-old man arrested in north-east England at the weekend is to appear in court in Belfast charged in connection with the discovery of about half a kilogram of semtex explosive. A 45-year-old man has been remanded in custody in Belfast on firearms and explosives charges related to the discovery of a major weapons haul in Northern Ireland.
More than 200 rounds of ammunition and two guns were also found in a Police Service of Northern Ireland search operation at a house in west Belfast last Friday. Kevin Nolan, who was arrested in Sunderland at the weekend, is accused of possessing half a kilo of the explosive semtex, two handguns and 200 rounds of ammunition.
In a follow-up operation, detectives from the PSNI, alongside Northumbria police colleagues, arrested the man at a property in Sunderland on Sunday. He is due in court on Tuesday to face explosives and firearms charges. The cache was found during a search at a house in Ballymurphy Road, west Belfast, last week.
The semtex discovery has prompted concerns among unionist politicians that not all of the arsenal of the Provisional IRA (PIRA) was decommissioned a decade ago. Nolan was detained in a follow-up security operation in north-east England, involving officers from the Police Service of Northern Ireland and anti-terrorist officers in Northumbria.
They want the PSNI to determine if the semtex originates from the huge cache of armaments provided by Muammar Gaddafi’s Libyan regime to the PIRA in the 1980s, or if the explosive – found at a house in the Ballymurphy area of Belfast – came from another source. Nolan faces counts of possessing explosives and firearms in suspicious circumstances and possession of explosives and firearms with intent to endanger life.
Meanwhile, a 29-year-old man detained in Belfast on Sunday has been released, while a 21-year-old woman arrested in the city at the same time remains in custody. All of the alleged offences occurred on dates between 1 May and 17 September this year, the court heard.
During the brief hearing at Belfast magistrates court, Nolan gave a clenched fist salute and waved to a group of supporters in the public gallery.
The judge Peter King was told by a PSNI officer that he could connect the accused to the charges.
Padraig Ó Muirigh, for Nolan, made no application for bail.
Nolan was remanded in custody for four weeks to appear again before the same court, via video-link from prison, on 20 October.
A 29-year-old man arrested in Belfast on Sunday as part of the same investigation has been released unconditionally. A 21-year-old woman detained at the same time remains in custody.