Northern Ireland

PSNI task force recovers 250 weapons

The Paramilitary Crime Task Force has recovered 248 weapons and firearms since 2017
The Paramilitary Crime Task Force has recovered 248 weapons and firearms since 2017

A PSNI task force has recovered almost 250 weapons and firearms since it was set up.

New figures reveal that the Paramilitary Crime Task Force seized £3.8m worth of drugs and 900 searches have been carried out since the unit was set up in 2017.

More than 400 people have also been arrested during that time.

In a recent security bulletin the PSNI also said that 13 people were charged arising from 110 security related arrests under the Terrorism Act in 2022.

Earlier this month police revealed that Derry City and Strabane policing district accounted for 41 percent of all security-related shootings and

60 percent of all bomb incidents last year.

Figures for paramilitary attacks show they were down last year.

The latest statistics were released before a man in his 30s was shot in the leg in Derry earlier this week.

Detective Superintendent Emma Neil urged victims of paramilitary violence to come forward.

"I understand that some victims will be reluctant because of the fear they suffer as a result of these attacks, fear for themselves, for their physical safety, fear for their family safety," she told the BBC.

"By not engaging with police, this has significant impact on police being able to identify those involved and gather evidence and prosecute.

"These are brutal and violent assaults and the trauma doesn't stop with physical injury - it impacts on their families, relationships and all aspects of the victim's life."