Concerns increased last night (Tuesday) over the state of the UVF's ceasefire after it emerged police recovered 20lbs of high-powered explosives during a search in a loyalist estate.
The find – one of the biggest seizures of loyalist explosives in many years – would have been enough to power 10 car bombs.
Police reported on Sunday that they had found "munitions" during planned searches in north Belfast but refused to say what had been found or where the searches had taken place.
However, The Irish News has now learned that officers uncovered 20lbs of Powergel during searches in the Glencairn area.
Powergel is one of the most powerful commercial explosives available and has been used by both the UVF and UDA.
The amount recovered is understood to have caused concern among security forces.
It was seized on the same day that PUP leader David Ervine warned of the potential of a "violent loyalist reaction" if the British and Irish governments pursued a policy of cross-border cooperation without a northern assembly in place.
"It would be my dream that there won't be violence," he said, "but the reality is that when you make a people voiceless there will be a reaction and a response."
Mr Ervine urged unionist politicians to share power with Sinn Féin to avoid a political vacuum.
He later insisted his comments had referred to the UVF and that he did not believe it intended any return to violence.
Powergel has been used by loyalists a number of times, including the car-bomb murder of solicitor Rosemary Nelson in 1999.
In June 1994 IRA man Martin Doherty was killed after he stopped the UVF from planting an 18lb Powergel bomb inside a Dublin bar during a Sinn Féin function.
In February 2002 a Catholic woman in Tyrone, who was seven months pregnant, escaped after a Powergel bomb was discovered underneath her car.
In 1996 the UVF left two 10lb Powergel bombs at Dublin airport in response to the IRA bombing of Canary Wharf in London.
A senior loyalist source last night admitted that the explosives had belonged to the UVF.
However, he denied they signalled a UVF return to violence.
"It was old explosives which had been there for some time," he said. "There is no change in the UVF's ceasefire."
Mr Ervine said: "I was not aware of this discovery but it is to be expected that if there are explosives out there then police will find them from time to time.
"I do not believe it signals any change in the UVF's ceasefire."
Meanwhile, last night police were conducting searches in the Westlands estate in north Belfast – the former stronghold of the ousted Shoukri brothers – in connection with "serious crime".
A number of items were taken away by British army experts.
