• Locals appalled as disguised thugs cruise estate in car, stopping outside select houses
Ciaran Barnes
Catholic families living in a religiously mixed area of north Belfast have been warned they are under threat from the UDA.
Police visited several houses in Skeogneill in the past week to inform the occupants they were being targeted by a “criminal gang”. At least one family has moved out as a result.
Loyalist sources said the intimidation was being carried out by a group of drug dealers connected to the Shankill UDA.
Ironically the main troublemaker, who cannot be named for legal reasons, lives with a Catholic.
The PSNI said: “Police do not discuss the security of individuals. However, if we receive information that a person’s life may be at risk we will inform them accordingly. We never ignore anything which may put an individual at risk. No inference should be drawn from this.”
Locals told Sunday Life how last Thursday evening the UDA gang gathered at a property before cruising the streets in a car.
One resident said: “It was a blatant act of intimidation. They had their faces covered with hats and scarves.
“One of them kept on reaching into his waistband to give the impression he had a gun there.
“They drove around the area slowly, stopping outside the homes of Catholic families.”
Skegoneill is one of the few working-class, religiously mixed areas in north Belfast, with Protestant and Catholic families living side-by-side for decades.
The resident said: “Everyone gets on well and has done for years.
“The kids play together in the street and religion is never mentioned. You have people who support Celtic, others who support Rangers, ones who go to the (loyalist) bands, and ones who watch GAA, and there’s never any trouble.”
Locals said problems began when a drug dealer with UDA connections moved into the area after being put out of another loyalist district in north Belfast.
“He started intimidating Catholic families and making it known he is linked to the Shankill UDA,” added the Skegoneill resident.
“The guy is a clown and so is his wee gang. They were cruising around the area last Thursday night in a car like a bunch of plastic hard men.
“If he was on his own, this fella would struggle to put the bins out, so it sickens me that he’s able to put at least one good family out of their Skegoneill home.”
The Shankill UDA counts loyalist areas of north Belfast as it’s ‘turf’ following the erosion of the North Belfast UDA a decade ago after years of feuds.
Some loyalists with links to what is left of the North Belfast UDA are involved with the government-funded New Beginnings project, which operates out of an office on the York Road.
The building is the former headquarters of the North Belfast UPRG — the terror gang’s old political wing — and the home of the Sammy Duddy UDA museum.
Residents are calling on New Beginnings to help bring an end to the intimidation. They also want Shankill UDA boss Matt Kincaid, who denies involvement in criminality, to do the same.
by Jeffreys_therapist
18 comments
>Police visited several houses in Skeogneill in the past week to inform the occupants they were being targeted by a “criminal gang”
Obviously, Superintendent Sammy McWilliams was on holiday the day the UDA was proscribed
When was the last time any republicans did anything like this? I honestly don’t recall. Regular occurrence with loyalists because they’re all universally nothing but degenerate thugs drunk on a misplaced sense of supremacy whose only recourse is violence and intimidation.
They should make a Ron Fricke type movie (like Baraka) just to show the year in the life of people in the North. I am sure it would be interesting.
Only in this failed little statelet would this be an acceptable position by the police.
Did it ever cross any of their pudding brains to actually go after this “criminal gang” aka the UDA or would that be too much work.
Yet again the PSNI working as messenger boys for loyalist paramilitaries. Whats new 🤷♂️
If ever there were cases for ‘internment’, this is it. Waiting to build cases whilst this shower (on both sides) roam free…shouldn’t be allowed out.
This is a disgrace, it’s been nearly 30 years since the GFA. Why are these paramilitary groups still tolerated?
[ Removed by Reddit ]
Knuckle dragging cunts.
Police “hello your life is in danger, have a good day” then they leave
How many of these bullies will go to church tomorrow and pray to a God whose first commandment to us is to love one another?
This is a form of gerrymandering, having only PUL votes into all so-called new mixed areas.
The DUP will condemn it publicly but in reality they support it.
Wasn’t this alwaystge way even in the troubles. Catholics were forced out of mainly protestant areas but it was rare for protestants to be forced oytof Catholic areas or is tgis inaccurate.
Btw is there another reason why they’re really being forced out? Why pick on one Catholic family in a mixed area?
Why exactly are the PSNI delivering threats on behalf of the UDA? Presumably there’s some system whereby the UDA can tell the PSNI which taigs are targets (aside from all of them, obviously) but there’s apparently not a system whereby the PSNI immediately arrest the people telling them that.
The PSNI is a joke, needs reformed and audited regularly
But what have kneecap said today? That’s the important news
It’s amazing that your local police force act as messengers for gangs.
Why can’t he be names for legal reasons?
Comments are closed.