Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Cops raid UVF gang
11 arrests as police seize drugs, jewellery and cars
MORE than 100 police officers were involved in a series of raids targeting the East Belfast UVF yesterday.
Part of an ongoing Paramilitary Crime Task Force operation, the searches and arrests were are connected to the investigation into the supply of class A drugs.
However, police say there are “links, direct and indirect” between persons of interest to the investigation and those suspected of being involved in the murder of Ian Ogle.
Eleven people were arrested and 14 properties searched in the Greater Belfast, Ards and Comber areas.
The raids occurred early on Friday morning with TSG officers using a battering ram to enter one property in the Lower Newtownards Road area. One man was later arrested.
The property and car parked outside were searched as part of the operation. Across the operation, suspected drugs as well as cash and cars were seized.
Head of the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, Detective Supt Bobby Singleton said the operation was “primarily concerned” with the supply of class A drugs. He described the East Belfast UVF as “nothing more than a drugs gang” who use the terror group’s label as a “flag of convenience”.
He said it has been a “priority” due to its “criminality, its violent and coercive control of the community”.
Det Supt Singleton said: “Together with our colleagues in Belfast City Policing District and Operational Support Department, we carried out 14 searches in the Greater Belfast, Ards and Comber areas and arrested 11 men aged between 22 and 48.
“They are currently in police custody being questioned by detectives.
“To date this has resulted in the seizure of £15,000 of suspected Class A drugs, a number of high-value vehicles, high-end jewellery, clothing and accessories and a significant quantity of cash. The investigation continues.
“East Belfast UVF have been a priority for the PCTF since its inception owing to the breadth and scale of criminality and the violence against and coercion of the community that goes hand in hand with it.
“Paramilitaries claim to protect local people but in reality they exploit them by supplying illegal drugs and using violence to try and control their markets. East Belfast UVF is nothing more than a drugs gang who operate under a flag of convenience in an attempt to legitimise their existence.
“Working with our partners and communities we are determined to rid our communities of these parasites. PSNI clearly has a role to play in terms of tackling the criminality of these groups and that’s why today’s PCTF operation is significant. This investigation has been ongoing for some time and today’s action will likely lead to further action by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. “Today’s operation demonstrates what we can do when we have information about the activities of these groups.” DS Singleton added that people with “information no matter how trivial they may think it is, should bring that to police or to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111”.