A man and woman, both aged 40, have been charged with attempting to make explosives under suspicious circumstances and possessing firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances.

The arrests and charges follow a proactive search of a house in the Holylands area of south Belfast by detectives from Musgrave when a number of items were seized. 

The man and woman are due to appear before Belfast Magistrates' Court today, Thursday 16th May. As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.

Detective Inspector Tom Phillips said: “We would like to thank the residents of Jerusalem Street and the surrounding areas for their patience over the past few days while this operation took place. If anyone has any information which they feel may assist us in our investigation, we would ask them to contact us on 101 quoting serial 1586 14/05/24.” 

Alternatively, you can submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/. You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/