London/Belfast - Police in Northern Ireland said Friday they discovered a huge cache of weapons and ammunition linked to a formerly mainstream Protestant paramilitary group.

The more than 70 weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found during the search of a home in Belfast which led to further discoveries in lock-up premises in the city, police said.

The discovery was linked to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), a mainstream Protestant paramilitary group, which in May 2007 declared an end to its campaign of violence by announcing the organization was adopting a non-military and civilian role.

The UVF said it had ceased recruitment and military training and had placed all its guns "beyond reach."

It was one of the last of the paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland to take the step.

But police in Northern Ireland have warned repeatedly that dissident elements in both the Catholic and the Protestant camps have continued with their clandestine activities and that major attacks could not be ruled out. (dpa)