Londonderry: Two men in court over assault rifle discovery

A defence solicitor for Mr Collett said his client had felt pressured into moving the items and was not aware of what they were.

The solicitor said Mr Collett “never had any dealings with violent republicanism” and said there was no prospect of Mr Collett using the weapon, but rather he was “moving it from A to B”.

A defence solicitor for Mr Burke said his client had issues with alcohol and said he had somehow agreed to look after this parcel for a matter of weeks.

District judge Barney McElholm said the case raised a lot of questions, such as where the weapon came from and who asked for it to be picked up.

In response to a question from the judge, the police officer also told the court neither man would have been “well known to police”.

The judge said he did not believe both men had “fully co-operated” with officers and said they were not suitable for bail.

Both men were remanded back into custody to appear again next month.