Crime-fighters target assets of UDA chiefs

Loyalist paramilitaries who fled Northern Ireland will not escape a major new crackdown on illegal wealth, a top crimefighter pledged today.

Assets Recovery Agency chief Alan McQuillan is set to examine the bank accounts of Ulster Defence Association leaders as part of the British government-backed unit’s first moves.

Mr McQuillan vowed to expose the financial affairs of the men he believes have amassed fortunes through drug dealing.

He said: “If offences have been committed and people have been in Northern Ireland then we will deal with them and their assets wherever they are in the world.”

Mr McQuillan was appointed to head up the fight after stepping down as No.2 to chief constable Hugh Orde in Belfast.

With new powers to go after paramilitary bosses and other racketeers coming into effect today, his team will be handed their first cases this week.

Dossiers on top UDA members and dissident republican terrorists are set to be passed over by police and customs officials.

Associates of jailed terror chief Johnny Adair who quit Belfast earlier this month during a bitter UDA feud and are in Scotland and England are understood to be among priority cases.

The UDA has now gone on a 12-month ceasefire and claimed it had stopped all drug dealing in an attempt to restore credibility following the feud.

The organisation also announced it is to undergo a complete restructuring process with its leaders shunning all publicity.

But it is believed some of the UDA’s most high-profile members in Belfast will still be targeted by Mr McQuillan’s 15-strong team drawn from ex-police, financial investigators, lawyers and customs officials.

The agency chief refused to disclose who was in his sights.

But senior security sources claimed the new strategy adopted by the UDA was in vain.

“They realise they have become media figures when one of the first rules of being a drug dealer is you keep a low profile,” one said.

“Some of these people are public bogeymen and you would expect something done about them.”

Mr McQuillan begins his assault equipped with tough new legislation under the Proceeds of Crime Act which gives him powers to trawl through suspects’ bank accounts and tax returns.

Gangsters successfully prosecuted for having more than £10,000 (€14,700) in cash without being able to explain it can have their assets seized if a court order is issued.

The agency can also sue the crime barons or slap a huge tax bill on them if no prosecution can be mounted.

Part of the act was used to confiscate £76,000 (€112,000) from Adair’s wife, Gina, when she was stopped at Cairnryan ferry terminal after fleeing Belfast.

As the investigations get under way it is expected that the first cases will come before the courts by the autumn.

Mr McQuillan, who reports to the agency’s national director Jane Earl, admitted the public wanted results but pleaded for time.

“This is going to be a long, hard slog, particularly with the bigger fish and more complex cases,” he said.

“We are going to be a relatively small unit working very hard from day one. We will grow as we develop of expertise and experience.”