Three senior Belfast loyalists have been remanded in custody on extortion and blackmail charges.
Their arrests followed a major police sting mounted against the UDA's money making racket in the city. They were arrested near a city centre restaurant on Wednesday.
Mr Raymond Crooks (43) of Mervue Street; Mr Gordon Davidson, (29) from Greenmount Place; and Mr Samuel Davidson (44) of Mervue Street were accused of demanding £20,000 sterling from a police officer they thought was a businessman.
They have also been charged with asking him for the cash to be used for terrorist purposes and stealing £5,000 from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).
Det Insp Michael Brown told Belfast Magistrate's Court that Mr Crooks replied "No" when charged with all three offences. Mr Gordon Davidson made no reply and Mr Samuel Davidson said "Not guilty", he said.
The detective said he believed he could connect all three men to the offences.
They were remanded in custody to appear again via video link on November 29th.
A lawyer for the accused said his clients would be appealing to the High Court for bail.
Two police operations in Belfast resulted in the arrests of 11 suspected UDA and UVF members on Wednesday.
Eight people were arrested in and around Craigantlet on the outskirts of east Belfast. A shotgun, handgun, masks and walkie-talkies were recovered.