Opinion

Overdue clampdown on UVF

Paramilitary groups of any description, whether they present themselves as linked to loyalists or republicans, should have no place in the Ireland of 2019, and a specific clampdown on the activities of the UVF in east Belfast is long overdue.

The operation launched by the PSNI yesterday, which resulted in 11 arrests in the course of raids on 14 properties in and around the east of the city, was on a significant scale and will be widely welcomed.

It was not surprising that the material seized included a substantial quantity of cocaine, as it has been clear for some time that the UVF is centrally involved in the illegal drugs trade which is destroying lives across all sections of society.

There will be an expectation that prosecutions will follow and it is essential that the organisation’s leading figures are among those in the dock.