there is a possibility the cache may be linked to a crime.

A Police spokesman said the weapon, which was found on waste ground in Pembroke in April, was still in Canada whilst ballastic and forensic tests were carried out on it.

Once they are complete, the spokesman said, they would have a clearer idea whether or not the gun had been used in a crime. "There are several outstanding crimes where that type of gun had been used,'' she said.

The 9mm semi-automatic pistol was found along with six Luger bullets on a grass verge in the Curving Avenue and Middleton area on April 24. It was wrapped in plastic and had been lying there for some time.

The gun and bullets were discovered in an area where two years ago Pembroke resident James Cyrus Caines, 28, was shot dead by a gunshot from a handgun.

That weapon was never found.