FIVE MEN HAVE been arrested in a PSNI crackdown on the Belfast INLA.

The massive policing operation is ongoing across the greater Belfast area and involves over 200 police officers supported by their colleagues from the National Crime Agency and HMRC.

It is the latest operation of the PSNI’s Paramilitary Crime Task Force and is focussed on the criminal activities of the Belfast INLA.

The PSNI said:

“Today we have carried out a total of 12 property searches in North, South and West Belfast, Lisburn, Crumlin and Newtownabbey. Some of these are still under way.”

The operation was focussed on extortion, paramilitary assaults and prostitution.

One of the premises raided was the headquarters of the Irish Republican Socialist Party (IRSP), the political party aligned to the INLA. The group called the raid “blatant political policing”.

Five people were arrested – aged 33, 41, 48, 49 and 51 – with further arrests planned.

They have all been taken into police custody where they are currently being questioned by detectives.

Head of Crime Operations Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin said: “The October 2015 Assessment of Paramilitary Groups in NI by PSNI and MI5 at the request of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, stated very clearly that INLA’s structures remained in existence and that its members continued to be heavily involved in criminality including extortion, paramilitary style attacks and violent acts of intimidation against people allegedly involved in dealing drugs in communities. These activities were assessed to have a significant and negative impact on local communities and this made the INLA’s a priority for the PCTF.

“This search and arrest operation is the largest conducted by the Task Force to date and is the result of an investigation that has been under way for a significant period of time into the group’s criminality and specifically its involvement in extortion and prostitution.

“I’d like to take this opportunity to appeal to anyone who believes they or their business are the subject of extortion to contact officers at the Paramilitary Crime Task Force on our 101 non-emergency number. We want to hear from you and, as today’s action demonstrates, where we can secure evidence of these suspected offences we will take action.

“There has been a misconception in some quarters that the work of the Paramilitary Crime Task Force is focused only on loyalist paramilitaries. Today’s policing activity and a related operation in Derry/Londonderry in March clearly demonstrate that our work is to remove paramilitarism from all our communities across Northern Ireland.”