DISSIDENT republicans left a rocket launcher on a rural road for up to a month, police have said.
The viable launcher, discovered on the Budore Road near Dundrod, Co Antrim, on Sunday evening, is believed to have been there for up to four weeks, the PSNI said yesterday.
During further searches on Monday, police found a replica pistol, baseball bat, hammer and gloves in a bag which had been hidden in a ditch less than 40 metres from the launcher.
Detective Inspector David Lowans said yesterday: "We have also established the launcher was viable which demonstrates that whoever left it there had no regard for who might come across it".
Several roads in the area were closed between Sunday and Monday after a suspicious object was found.
British army bomb experts were called to the scene on Monday and removed several items.
The senior detective said while police were "not able" to establish a link between the launcher and bag "at this stage", he added that they "both bear all the hallmarks of dissident Republicans and this is a strong line of enquiry".
Further searches were carried out yesterday.
Police appealed to anyone who noticed any suspicious activity in the area over the past four weeks or discovered anything suspicious on their land to contact detectives.
Sinn Féin MLA Declan Kearney said those behind the weapons have "absolutely no political or community support in South Antrim".
"All armed and paramilitary factions regardless of their purported allegiance should disband and disarm immediately. They are not wanted in South Antrim or anywhere else," he said.
"I am very pleased that these weapons have now been taken out of circulation by the PSNI."
Ulster Unionist MLA Steve Aiken praised police for the find.
"I am particularly concerned at the recovery of the rocket launcher and am in no doubt that lives have been saved as a result.
"The people of South Antrim want to live in peace in a normal society. It is incumbent on everyone to give the police all the support possible to thwart the activities of those gangsters who seek to acquire weapons and impose their will on communities.
"These groups are parasites and must be eradicated."
