Loyalist feud linked to two murders

The same loyalist killers are suspected of carrying out two murders in a deepening paramilitary feud, it emerged tonight.

As detectives questioned six men about the turf war in Belfast, security sources confirmed a link between the assassinations.

Three men have been shot dead since the Ulster Volunteer Force’s dispute with the rival Loyalist Volunteer Force faction erupted on the city’s streets.

Stephen Paul, 28, was gunned down outside his home off the Crumlin Road in north Belfast on Saturday.

He was murdered just streets away from where gunmen shot 20-year-old Craig McCausland three weeks ago.

The UVF is suspected of carrying out both attacks, and detectives believe the same gang may have been involved.

Ballistic tests have been carried out in a bid to establish if one weapon was used for both killings.

A third man, Jameson Lockhart, 25, was shot dead at the wheel of his lorry in east Belfast last month.

The UVF was also blamed for that attack.

Hundreds of its men also laid siege to an east Belfast housing estate in order to force families allegedly associated with the splinter LVF organisation out of their homes.

Six new arrests were made today as officers raided a total of 15 homes, nearly all in the north of the city.

The suspects were taken to a serious crime suite at Antrim police station, 20 miles from Belfast. Some were questioned about Mr Paul’s murder

Chief Superintendent Mike Little, the commander in charge of the operation, said: “Police are actively working to disrupt the activities of those we believe could be intent on increasing fear and intimidation.

“This ongoing operation will continue and any breaches of law will be dealt with robustly.”

Before officers moved into north Belfast today, another 72 searches had been carried out.

Police said 14 arrests have been made and seven suspects charged with offences linked to the feud.

The new raids were carried out as detectives went back to the scene of Mr Paul’s murder in a hunt for fresh clues.

The detective heading up the inquiry, Superintendent Roy McComb, vowed to find the killers for the sake of the victim’s family.

Appealing for witnesses who saw the gunmen escape in a blue Vauxhall Astra car, he added: “I grow weary of people being murdered just because somebody else puts a title on them,” he said.

“Regardless of what activities they are perceived to be part of, nobody has the right to take life.”