By Vincent Kearney
BBC NI home affairs correspondent
**The Irish National Liberation Army has decommissioned its weapons, days before the body overseeing Northern Ireland paramilitary weapons ceases to exist.**The move took place in recent weeks and is expected to be confirmed on Monday by the INLA and General John de Chastelain, head of the IICD.
The INLA was a small, ruthless group which killed more than 120 people, including MP Airey Neave in 1979.
In October, it said it would pursue its aims by exclusively peaceful means.
The group’s political wing held a parade in Bray in County Wicklow four month ago and announced that the organisation had renounced violence.
At present paramilitiaries moving weapons can use a certificate from the IICD saying they are moving arms from one cache to another to facilitate decomissioning.
On 9 February, the legislation that allows the IICD to operate ends and any weapons found after that date can be forensically tested.
Evidence from this could be used in future court cases and possibly help secure convictions.
Last month the loyalist paramilitary group theUlster Defence Associationalso decommissioned.
The government had made it clear to the UDA that after the legislation expired that they would be treated as common criminals that the police would actively seek their weapons.