An arsenal of weaponry found in a south Armagh bunker was probably imported on behalf of the Provisional IRA decades ago, the High Court has heard.
Lawyers for a father and son accused of having the guns and ammunition claimed some of the seized equipment would not be used by organised crime gangs.
Danny O’Callaghan (59) and Joseph O’Callaghan (32) face charges related to the deadly haul discovered during intelligence-led searches on October 30, 2023.
The professionally constructed hide near land owned by Danny O’Callaghan, of Monog Road in Crossmaglen held a large container set into concrete.
Among the contents of the bunker were two sawn-off shotguns, a pump-action rifle, Glock pistol and approximately 2,000 rounds of ammunition – including some capable of piercing armour.
The firearms, bullets and accompanying gloves and balaclavas were sealed in plastic.
Prosecutors have claimed the cache had been divided into packages for potential operational use in shootings.
Danny O’Callaghan and his son Joseph, of Hillcrest Way in Bessbrook, are allegedly linked to the guns in a case involving DNA evidence.
They deny joint charges of possessing firearms and ammunition in suspicious circumstances and with intent.
As the two men mounted joint applications for bail, an investigating detective told the court: “It’s difficult to argue that a person could possess these weapons for any reason other than to cause serious harm.”
He claimed the defendants could have maintained ready access to the weapons without having previously come to the attention of police.
Mr Justice Fowler heard inquiries are ongoing to establish who owns the exact piece of land where the hide was located.
It was also disclosed that one of the sawn-off shotguns was stolen in the Co Louth area in 2018.
Police were unable to confirm how long the other weapons had been stored in the bunker.
Lawyers for the O’Callaghans insisted they faced a weak case, based on an historic arms dump they knew nothing about.
Barrister Paddy Taggart contended that only the Provisional IRA was known to have used some of the calibre of ammunition found among the cache.
“The assertion here is this is an organised criminal gang, (but) there is no reason why anti-personnel material used for taking down helicopters would be used by an organised criminal gang,” he submitted.
Mr Taggart claimed the bunker must have been built decades ago.
“The origin of these weapons would be indicative of importation for the Provisional IRA back in the 1970s and 1980s,” counsel said.
“Latterly it was Soviet Union and Middle Eastern, we have now been told for the first time there was Israeli ammunition.
“There is no explanation why (this) ammunition would be found in an organised criminal gang’s arms dump.”
Adjourning both bail applications, Mr Justice Fowler said he will give his ruling at a later stage.