Former soldier jailed for storing explosives and gun linked to UVF

A former soldier has been sentenced to three years in prison for having a pipe bomb, gun and ammunition linked to the East Belfast Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).

Bryce Pounder, 38, previously pleaded guilty to possession of explosives and an article for use in terrorism. He also admitted possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances.

Pounder, from Parker Street in Belfast, was among four men who were arrested during a series of police raids in Belfast in November 2022.

He was not accused of membership of the UVF, a loyalist paramilitary organisation, or any paramilitary offences.

During Tuesday's sentencing hearing the court heard that Pounder had accrued a £1,800 drug-related debt.

As a result of not paying what he owed, he had been instructed to store the guns and ammunition and had agreed to do so "out of fear".

When police searched Pounder's house, they found a plastic box which contained a dismantled pipe bomb with explosives, a silencer, a blank fire gun that had been painted to resemble a Beretta pistol, and 98 rounds of ammunition.

The police also found clothing associated with the UVF.

During the sentencing, the judge said that there was no evidence that Pounder had any allegiance to a terrorist organisation and that his offending had arisen from the "situational pressures" of his drug debt and his subsequent "vulnerability".