Two women and a man were questioned by police tonight after a weapons and drugs seizure in a north Belfast loyalist housing estate.
An AK47 assault rifle, three handguns, ammunition, as well as ecstasy tablets and cannabis worth almost €40,000, were found at three houses in the Westland area.
Police had been acting on a tip-off and the raids were the latest to be mounted as part of Chief Constable Hugh Orde's crackdown on the Ulster Defence Association and other loyalist paramilitaries.
Chief Supt Julie Lindsay-White, the north Belfast district commander, confirmed that two women and a man were taken away for questioning after five houses were searched.
Supt Lindsay-White said: "We are all aware of the potential use of guns in north Belfast. It is too early to establish a link with any of the organisations, but this is a very significant find." (PA)