Secret bank accounts of loyalists who pay their men in drugs and prostitutes are to be investigated in a major British government offensive against paramilitaries, it was revealed last night.
Mr Alan McQuillan, the new Assets Recovery Agency chief for Northern Ireland, vowed to travel the world in a bid to seize the hidden wealth of paramilitaries and other crime families.
The first cases are expected to come before the courts by the autumn. With Ulster Defence Association units amassing huge profits from narcotics, Mr McQuillan's 15-strong team is planning a crackdown to put them out of business.
The former Northern Ireland deputy chief constable said: "People in the UDA have paid their people with women and drugs. ut if we can make a real dent in the funds of these organisations we reduce their ability to keep staff working for them and to generate money.
"We could ultimately force a change in the organisation, at least a downsizing and hopefully more".
He refused to name individuals, but it is believed the new agency will target jailed UDA commander Johnny "Mad Dog" Adair's rogue C Company in west Belfast.
Several brothels run by associates of Mr Adair, who was sent back to prison for his part in a vicious internal feud, have been shut down by police this year.
Security sources also disclosed that C Company leaders have ensured activists' loyalty by staging drug-fuelled orgies in specially hired pubs. They take over a bar, get 15 or 20 women in and throw a kilo of cocaine down on the table," one said.
Up to 80 crime organisations are thought to be operating in Northern Ireland, with half of them linked to paramilitaries.
PA