Man arrested in England in connection with Belfast arms and explosives find

Semtex, explosives, two guns and more than 200 rounds of ammunition were discovered during a raid of a house on Ballymurphy Road on Friday.

He has now been charged and is due to appear in Belfast Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday to face charges of possession of explosives in suspicious circumstances and with the intent to endanger life, and possession of a firearm in suspicious circumstances, with intent to endanger life.

“Officers from PSNI Serious Crime Branch, investigating an arms and explosives find in West Belfast on September 18, assisted by officers from North East Counter Terrorism Unit and Northumbria Police, have arrested a 45-year-old man this morning in Sunderland”, he said.

Entering the dock dressed in a grey sweatshirt, the defendant nodded to confirm he understood the charges against him.

No further details are available at this stage, the PSNI said.

The discovery of the Semtex will raise questions from unionist politicians about whether the Czech-made explosive came from a cache of the PIRA’s arsenal that was meant to have been decommissioned a decade ago.

Nolan was remanded in custody for four weeks to appear again before the same court, via video-link from prison, on 20 October.

It is believed the quantity of Semtex found in West Belfast would have been sufficient to make three under-car booby trap bombs.

A 21-year-old woman detained at the same time has been released pending a report to the Public Prosecution Service.

A 38-year-old woman and 67-year-old man who were arrested at the scene were released last night.