Three heavy machine-guns found hidden on farmland in Co Monaghan yesterday are believed to be part of the Provisional IRA's arsenal.
Senior security sources said last night it was unclear whether the weapons had fallen into the hands of dissident republicans. But they discounted any suggestion that the find was a deliberate decommissioning gesture by the IRA.
The three Soviet-manufactured DShK guns were discovered at around 4 p.m. in the townland of Blackstaff, five miles from Carrickmacross close to the Border. Gardai from Carrickmacross and Monaghan have been searching the area since the Omagh bomb last August.
The guns, which can be used as anti-aircraft weapons, have an effective range of up to two kilometres.
They were buried under a dry stone wall, hidden in a length of plastic piping sealed at both ends. Two hundred rounds of ammunition on 50-round belts were found with the weapons.
Over five feet long, the guns are unwieldy weapons, needing more than one man to operate them. They are mounted on a tripod, and the IRA has previously assembled such weapons on the back of a lorry. They are believed to have been shipped into the State during the IRA gun-running operation from Libya between 1985 and 1987.
The find is close to the area in north Monaghan where gardai found five AK47 assault rifles, an FN sniper's rifle, seven handguns and bomb parts last September. This cache had been buried in two plastic barrels in a field off the road to Hackballscross just south of the Border.
Chief Supt Colm Rooney, who is in charge of the operation, said the weapons found yesterday were in excellent condition. The find was part of an ongoing investigation into the Omagh bomb, which killed 29 people and injured 200. "We have had a lot of information and intelligence and searches have been ongoing." Around 15 gardai were involved in the search.
As a search of the area resumes today, ballistics experts from Garda headquarters will examine the guns. No arrests were made in connection with the find.
A senior security source said it would be worrying if the weapons were in the hands of dissident republicans, but it was more likely that they were part of a Provisional IRA arms bunker. The last time such weapons featured in arms finds was in the early 1990s, when a single DShK was discovered during Operation Silo in the Munster area, following the arrest of a garda who had been passing information to the IRA southern command.