Two people are being questioned by detectives from the PSNI Serious Crime Branch, investigating dissident terrorist activity, after more than half a kilo of Semtex, two handguns, 200 rounds of ammunition and two detonators were recovered.
The items were recovered after a security alert in the Ballymurphy Road area of Belfast, which began late on Thursday and continued into the early hours of Friday morning. A police spokesman said the items have been taken away for detailed forensic examination.
A 38-year-old woman and a 67-year-old man were arrested at the scene and taken for questioning at Antrim police station.
Det Chief Insp Gillian Kearney, of the Serious Crime Branch said: "We are delighted to have removed these potentially lethal items from the streets of west Belfast.
“We appreciate the clearance operation, which was needed to ensure everyone’s safety through the night, disrupted many people’s lives, requiring people to leave their homes and inconveniencing road users.
“We would like to thank them for their patience and understanding during the operation. We will continue to work with the community to ensure we keep everyone safe.”
Sinn Féin’s deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness described it as a “worrying development” and said police are to be applauded for “thwarting attempts to plunge us into the past”.
Mr McGuinness said: “Whenever I hear of arms and munitions being found, I would be very happy about that. I would be very pleased that the police service are doing their job in protecting the community.”
“I believe the responsible way to go is ensure there is good policing, if there are weapons out there, that they will be recovered and as a result of that people will be safer.”
He claimed the discovery of Semtex “shows what many people have accepted for a very long time, that there were people within mainstream Irish republicanism, who left and who, in leaving, took some equipment with them. I think it’s as simple as that.”
Mr McGuinness also said while Sinn Féin would challenge the police when appropriate, the party would continue to support An Garda Síochána and the PSNI “in the good work they are doing”.