Two Co Armagh men have been jailed for possessing magazines for a "deadly assault weapon'' found more than five years ago in a van.
Martin McKerr (54), of Belvedere Manor, Lurgan, was handed a nine month sentence after he was found guilty following a non-jury trial in June this year for possessing firearms in suspicious circumstances and without a firearms certificate.
Before his trial started at Belfast Crown Court, co-accused Shane Stevenson (35), of Drumlin Drive, also Lurgan, pleaded guilty to the same charges and also further admitted two counts of attempting to possess a document likely to be useful to terrorism.
Stevenson was sentenced to 16 months in custody followed by a further year on supervised licence on his release.
During a sentencing hearing on Monday, Judge Gordon Kerr KC said: "The defendants were transporting magazines which were essential component parts for a deadly weapon, namely an AK47 assault rifle.
"They did not contain any ammunition and there is no evidence before me that they were ever used in any incident.
"It must be stressed, however, that any transportation of a constituent part or part of a deadly weapon is serious.''
Judge Kerr said the attempted possession of documents charges fell to be sentenced under the Counter Terrorism Act 2021 which was brought in following a series of terrorist attacks in London.
It ended the early release of prisoners half way through their sentence and defendants now have to serve two thirds of their sentence before they can apply to the Parole Commissioners.
Judge Kerr said Stevenson will also be subject to the notification requirements under the 2008 Counter Terrorism Act for a period of ten years. He also granted a prosecution application for the forfeiture of the magazines.
As both men appeared remotely via video link for the hearing, the judge ordered both defendants to present themselves at Craigavon Courthouse on September 13 when they will be taken into custody.
The charges against both men dated back to February 21 2018, when a white Peugeot van was stopped by police on the Leven Road in Lurgan. The vehicle was owned and being driven by McKerr with Stevenson a front seat passenger.
A prosecution lawyer told McKerr's trial earlier this year that when the van was searched, PSNI officers found a plastic bag containing smaller bags in the footwell of the passenger's side of the van.
The bag was found to contain 22 empty rifle magazines compatible with AKM/AK47 assault rifles.
Also seized and examined were a pair of gloves and McKerr's Samsung phone.
A Crown lawyer said the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the magazines suggested both Stevenson and McKerr, who has a previous conviction for riotous behaviour in 2016, were jointly in possession of the magazines.
After reserving judgement in the case, Judge Kerr returned guilty verdicts against McKerr on both counts.
The judge said he had taken into account McKerr's refusal to give evidence at his trial.
At a recent plea and sentencing hearing, the prosecution lawyer said that when Stevenson's home was searched, "two pieces of cigarette papers with handwritten notes inside a flask were examined for both fingerprints and DNA''.
He said on the first note, Stevenson's left thumb print was found and there was also a "DNA hit''.
He added that one of the vehicle registration marks recorded on the notes belonged to the wife of a serving PSNI officer who were both insured to drive the car.