‘Real IRA links to organised crime’

Protection money is flowing from organised crime groups involved in human trafficking and drug dealing to the Real IRA, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) has revealed.

Assistant Chief Constable Drew Harris told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee last Wednesday (December 7) the Real IRA has links with unaffiliated groups and smuggling activity and protection money comes from these.

He said members of the group were extracting salaries from smuggling and fuel laundering to fund their lifestyles, with terrorist campaigns waged using a minimum amount of cash, as items such as improvised explosive devices are cheap to make.

Detective Chief Superintendent Roy McComb added many crime gangs have become more fluid, with people from paramilitary backgrounds becoming involved and the resulting secrecy and professionalism making it harder to track their activity.