Loyalists 'still profiting from crime'

Senior Ulster Defence Association members profited from crime just weeks before the British government pledged £1.2m (€1.76m) to the loyalist group’s plan to wean its communities off paramilitarism, it emerged today.

The Independent Monitoring Commission’s latest study of paramilitaries in the North revealed the Provisional IRA’s terrorist capability continued to deteriorate between December and February.

And while the ceasefire watchdog welcomed signals from the UDA and the Ulster Volunteer Force that they wanted to follow suit, the commission said they were not moving fast enough and needed more coherent strategies.

According to the IMC’s 15th report, while the UDA did not engage in terrorist, racial or sectarian violence over the three-month period under review, senior members were involved in black market activity in the North.

UDA members also took part in extortion, drug dealing and loan sharking, although the report noted there were signs that such activity was beginning to drop off in some areas.

“In the case of the sale of counterfeit and contraband goods, there were, in our view, indications of the engagement of some senior members in an organised way,” the four-member commission observed.

“There have, however, been some first indications that the level of drug dealing and extortion may be starting to decline in some places.

“One case of attempted extortion precipitated a petrol bomb attack against a public house in Carrickfergus. There have also been instances of intimidation. Some members have undertaken robberies, though we think without leadership sanction.”

The report said assaults carried out by the organisation tended to relate to internal dissent or anti-social behaviour and it noted tensions between members in South East Antrim and the rest of the UDA.

While it welcomed the group’s Conflict Transformation Initiative, to which the British government pledged £1.2m (€1.76m) last month, and its efforts to prevent racial attacks and extortion, the IMC said this did not amount to an effective strategy against criminality.

The commission said: “There have continued to be welcome signs that the leadership wants to move in a positive direction but so far the impact of these aspirations has been limited and the pace has been slow.

“This may reflect a lack of a clear and unified strategic view and of either the capacity or the will to put a strategy into effect. But whatever the root cause, we believe the UDA needs to move faster and more vigorously, including on the question of decommissioning weapons.”

The UVF, the commission said, was not involved in terrorist activity, was involved in no shootings during the period under review, and had tried to address the problem of racial crime carried out by members.

Assaults were carried out during the three months but they appeared to be linked to internal discipline and anti-social behaviour.

While the UVF did not carry out robberies or attempt to acquire weapons, the commission noted: “Individual members were involved in serious crime, mainly for personal gain, including extortion and counterfeiting.

“There has, however, been further evidence of a reduction in the amount of drug dealing by members, in terms of both its scale and geographical spread.”

The UVF leadership, the report observed, was keen to reduce the size of the organisation and to restructure it.

And while the group ordered its members to refrain from criminality, the IMC believed its leadership wanted to retain some residual paramilitary capacity.

The commission said: “As Northern Ireland moves into a new stage of political development, the time has, in our view, clearly come for the leadership of the UVF to show courage and imagination and grasp the nettle.

“If it does not do so soon, including on the question of decommissioning weapons, then talk of these intentions will become less and less credible. As with the UDA, early substantial moves are now essential.”

The IMC believes the Loyalist Volunteer Force is now a criminal concern involved in drug dealing and counterfeit money, using the proceeds of crime for personal gain.

There was more comfort for the Rev Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists as they prepared for a new era of power sharing featuring Sinn Féin, with the IMC revealing the Provisional IRA (PIRA) continues to wind down its terrorist capability.

Individual PIRA members, the report noted, continued to be involved in crime such as fuel laundering, smuggling, tax fraud and money laundering despite instructions from the leadership not to do so.

But the commission said the general level of involvement in crime appeared to be on the wane.

The leadership’s support for Sinn Féin’s decision to get involved in policing was also significant, the report said, and there were a number of examples of republican communities co-operating with the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The IMC warned that hardline dissident republican groups such as the Real IRA, Continuity IRA and Oglaigh na hEireann continued to pose a threat.

The Continuity IRA targeted police in December, senior figures were involved in crime and the group has been suspected of two murders since February.

The Real IRA continued its criminal activity and was involved in a failed mortar bomb attack on a police station in Craigavon in December.

The INLA also posed a terrorist threat and increased its criminal activities.