19/11/2018

Praise For Emergency Services After Weapons Find

An Alliance party MLA has thanked Northern Ireland's emergency services after a major weaponry find in west Belfast last week.

The haul, which included two AK 47's, two sawn off shotguns, a rifle, three pipe bombs and ammunition was discovered after a boiler caught fire in the rear yard of a house in Rodney Drive on Wednesday 14 November.

Police believe the weapons belonged to dissident republicans and had previously been used in attempts to murder police.

"I would like to praise all the emergency services who firstly helped uncover this haul and then removed it safely," Stewart Dickson MLA said.

"There is now no longer the possibility of these weapons being used in attempts to murder or injure police officers or others, as they may have been before.

The party's Justice Spokesperson condemned the owners of the ammunition and said: "These dissidents have no support in the wider community."

Mr Dickson also urged anyone with information on the weapons or their intended use to contact police immediately.



(JG)

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