Four loyalists have been jailed for 12 years today for possessing weapons and articles for a purpose connected with an act of terrorism.
The court heard that the four - Alan Raymond Boyce (37) and John Gamble (26), both from Glebe Avenue, and John Thompson (23) from Hazelbank Road and Ian George Hanson (23) from Alderbrook, all in Coleraine - were stopped at a police checkpoint in a Ford Fiesta at the Ballycastle Road outside the town on November 21st.
Inside the car, police discovered a loaded 9 mm pistol along with a double barrelled shotgun, an iron bar, a cricket bat, four balaclavas and a number of pairs of gloves.
Prosecution lawyer Ms Donna McColgan told the court that although all four denied any knowledge of the guns, cudgels, hoods and gloves, they gave "accounts which were at variants with each other".
Ms McColgan also told the court that although the guns were found in the boot of the car "the parcel shelf had been taken away to give ready access" to the weapons.
The four pleaded guilty to the charges. Lawyers for the four men claimed that by their pleas of guilty they had accepted their wrongdoing and had shown genuine remorse.
As they were being taken to the cells at Belfast Crown Court, one of the men shouted out the Republican slogan "Tiocfaidh ár Lá [our day will come]".