Two men have been remanded in custody at Derry Magistrates’ Court charged with firearm offences that a police officer said could be linked to dissident republican groups.

Caoimhan Millar (20) of Raftery Close and Kevin Francis Brady (24) of Ballymagowan Avenue both in Derry appeared by videolink from Musgrave PSNI station.

They were both charged with possessing a Glock pistol and a compatible magazine in suspicious circumstances on October 22.

They were also charged with possessing a firearm with intent to cause fear and alarm or for it to be used for an unlawful purpose and possession without a firearm certificate.

A Detective Inspector connected the accused to the charges and opposed bail.

He told the court that around 10.50pm on October 22 two men were observed entering a field in the Glassagh Road area.

Police approached the field, saw tracks and two men made off, the court was told.

A short time later the two defendants were arrested and gave no explanation for their presence.

The court heard that items of clothing were found in the field.

The officer told the court that on Friday morning police commenced a search of the field and at 1.15pm a firearm was located some 12-15 metres from the gap in the hedge where police had entered the field.

Police believed the gun had been there 'a relatively short time'.

The court was told that DNA from the gun was found to have three profiles, one of them possibly Millar's, with the figure being put at 520 times more likely than not.

The court heard that both men had been held for four days and had made no response interviews.

Bail was objected to as police believe that both men had been trusted to take possession of the firearm, the court was told.

Millar was said to come from a family 'well known to police' and there were concerns that as police did not find ammunition he might know where that was, the court heard.

As regards Brady the officer told the court that he came from a family 'well known to police' and had 'strong motivations' to flee the jurisdiction.

Defence solicitor Paddy MacDermott asked the police officer how long the gun had been there and was told that police believed it had been a relatively short time.

He asked was there forensic evidence linking Brady to the gun and was told no.

As regards the DNA connection to Millar the solicitor said it was 'an unusual number' as normally the odds were put in the millions.

The solicitor said that it seemed to be 'circumstantial evidence' and asked for bail as it could be some time before the case comes to court.

District Judge Suzanne Rice told the court that these were 'serious offences' and that the gun was found close to where the two men had been arrested.

She said that neither man was suitable for bail and both were remanded in custody to appear again at Derry Magistrates’ Court on November 19.