Carrickfergus: Two men accused over assault weapon and drugs find

The assault weapon was found in Carrickfergus

Two County Antrim men have appeared in court accused of possessing a "military-style" assault weapon and £50,000 worth of cocaine.

Appearing in court by video link were Andrew Morrow, 44, of North Road, Carrickfergus, and Gerald Verner, 33, of Fairview Terrace, Newtownabbey.

Both are charged with possessing an M4 carbine rifle and 5.56mm ammunition in suspicious circumstances.

They are also accused of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

Mr Verner is further charged with possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply, possessing Class C drugs and having criminal property, namely £4,325 in cash.

A detective constable told a judge at Belfast Magistrate's Court that police on patrol on Friday 5 May saw Mr Verner jumping over the front fence of Mr Morrow's North Road home and getting into his car.

He was stopped and searched and a small quantity of "cannabis edibles" was found in his "man bag''.

"In the North Road property there was an M4 carbine, a quantity of ammunition and a large quantity of Class A cocaine with an estimated street value of £50,000," the detective said.

'Fully functioning'

He said police needed to test the suspected weapon to confirm that it was indeed a gun before they could forensically analyse it.

"But enquiries to date lead us to believe that this is a fully functioning rifle, which is quite significant," he added.

Ammunition was also seized

Mr Verner's defence solicitor said he was objecting to his client being connected to the "North Road charges" as "he is not seen exiting the property or the four walls of the building".

"A male was observed jumping over a fence. There is no connection to these charges. There is no forensics and no DNA evidence," he said.

However, the detective said that Mr Verner was seen leaving the "confines of the property, the back door was open and he had access to the four walls".

She told the court that Mr Verner declined to answer questions about his presence at North Road.

In relation to the £4,325 cash found at his home, he stated that it was a loan from his cousin to get a private apartment but refused to give the name of his cousin.

A Public Prosecution Service lawyer said: "Mr Verner is a known associate of Mr Morrow. He is seen leaping out of the North Road property and it is a reasonable proposition to say that he was in the house.

"In that house of a known associate of his, a weapon, ammunition and a significant amount of drugs were found. At his [Mr Verner's] home there were no weapons but there were drugs and a significant amount of money.

Granted bail

"He told police at the scene that 'you won't find my prints' on the weapon, ammunition and drugs. We say there is a significant amount of circumstantial evidence to connect him to the North Road charges."

The judge said "there is just enough in the round to take it over the threshold of connection".

Mr Morrow did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody.

Police objected to Mr Verner being released on bail.

Citing his criminal record, the detective constable said Mr Verner had convictions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm, rape and threats to kill.

"He is currently on court bail for quite a serious assault in October 2022. He has breached that bail on several occasions,'' she said.

She added the £50,000 cocaine haul would lead police to believe that he is "involved in a substantial organised drug supply network involving the possession and moving of wholesale quantities of Class A and Class B drugs to unknown entities".

The judge said he was agreeing to release Mr Verner on his own bail of £500 along with two sureties totalling £1,500 along with strict conditions.

The case will be mentioned again on 5 June.