An Tyrone man appeared in court yesterday four days after police uncovered a cache of arms and explosives in a car they had stopped on the M1 motorway. Mr George McCartney (40), unemployed, Campsie Road, Omagh, was stopped by police near Lisburn on Sunday night. He denies the unlawful possession of a sub-machinegun, a sawn-off shotgun, 19 rounds of ammunition and eight commercial detonators, all with intent to endanger life. An RUC detective sergeant said he believed he could connect Mr McCartney with the charges.
He agreed that Mr McCartney had consistently denied any knowledge of the weapons found in bags in the car. Asked by Mr McCartney's solicitor if there was any forensic evidence to link him to the weapons, the sergeant said tests had not been finalised. Mr McCartney has been remanded in custody to appear in the Maze prison court on August 23rd.