"And if they are a defender of anything, it is their own criminal interests.". On 4 September Langhammers car was blown up outside his Whiteabbey home by Greggs men, although Langhammer himself was asleep at the time and no one was injured. Similarly, South East Antrim UDA which broke away from the Inner Council in 2007, is wholly independent of any other UDA faction. Adams was hit five times in the attack but the taxi rushed to the Royal Victoria Hospital where he received treatment and survived. Posted 2 years ago 2 years ago. [20], Although the UDA was officially on ceasefire, the South East Antrim Brigade remained active in late 1998 and early 1999, undertaking a series of pipe bomb attacks on Catholic properties. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. The Belfast Telegraph called the move "a familiar loyalist pattern of events. A UDA/UFF South-East Antrim Brigade mural in Newtownabbey On 6 January 2010, the UDA announced that it had put its weapons "verifiably beyond use". Carrick's drug trade is now a mish-mash of conflicting independent criminal gangs. The UDA structure was divided into six geographical areas during the late 1980s (Londonderry, South-East Antrim, North Belfast, East Belfast, West Belfast and South Belfast). It is unclear when South East Antrim was first designated as a brigade area although its first recognised leader was Alan Snoddy and he held title of Brigadier by at least 1979. A UDA/UFF South-East Antrim Brigade mural in Newtownabbey. A volley of shots was fired over his coffin by UDA gunmen outside his Rathcoole home. "I think that the powers that be know exactly which individuals are involved. Often called 'the Egyptian', Shoukri became known as 'the blingadier' for his extravagant lifestyle. "And the blunder of the Housing Executive staff being threatened did him no favours either in the area.". Belfast Books Thanks for promoting my book mate. Themen: Politische Wochenschau, politische Theorie, Artikel und Berichte zu Themen rund um berwachung, Repression, Wirtschaft, Soziales, Befreiungsnationalismus, Antiimperialismus, Zeitgeschichte und Literaturhinweise [53] Gilmore died the following day, with the incident described as part of an ongoing feud in the town. He is currently recovering at his mother's home in the Rathcoole estate after last week's beating. . In the later 1980s Snoddy took ill with cancer and many of his duties as brigadier were filled by his ally Joe English. Harry and Meghan told to 'vacate' Frogmore Cottage, Explosive found in check-in luggage at US airport, Whiskey fungus forces Jack Daniels to stop construction, Rare Jurassic-era bug found at Arkansas Walmart, UN to ignore remarks of India guru's fictional country, India court panel to probe Adani fraud allegations. It has brought the town under close scrutiny from the Paramilitary Crime Task Force. When the taxi stopped at traffic lights close to the motorway, it was rammed by another taxi which had been hijacked earlier on the Shankill Road. "He'll take the hit, he's like a deer in the headlights, there's nowhere for him to go. Intense police pressure is forcing South East Antrim UDA mob boss Gary Fisher to gradually withdraw from his leadership role. [3], Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association, "BBC NEWS | Programmes | Panorama | John "Grug" Gregg", "Loyalists on brink of war as UDA chief is shot dead | UK news", "Assassin is kicked out of top UDA post | UK news", "Retaliation inevitable - Just a matter of when", "UDA leaders son gets record payout UTV News", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=John_Gregg_(loyalist)&oldid=1118219468, This page was last edited on 25 October 2022, at 19:42. [5], Gregg was sentenced to 18 years in prison; however, he only served nine years before he was released in 1993. And now it's emerged the UVF heavy has also given a separate list of UDA-linked dealers to the cops. The organisation is now in the grip of a committee of senior paramilitary veterans with Fisher forced to toe the line. "This isn't the end of it I wouldn't have thought. @caolan-mclaughlin-844507501 this is a UDA song ya muppet why u put f the uvf know yer history kid. Gregg took this as a threat and, after complaining to senior figures in the West Belfast UDA, ordered the three men to be kneecapped. fifty skinheads appeared from nowhere, many of them wearing Chelsea and Rangers football scarves and covered in Loyalist and swastika tattoos. Senior members of South East Antrim UDA want to take out the UVF man who they believe gave up their drug dealers. [28] In response, three Woodvale UDA members went to Gregg and complained about the attack in a move Gregg saw as a threat. In October 2002, Gregg was one of the brigadiers who passed the resolution expelling Adair from the UDA for his involvement in the non-fatal shooting of Jim Gray. The council released a statement expelling two figures within it, believed to be senior UDA figures Fisher and Kirkham, once a member of the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), although they were not named. About Us; Staff; Camps; Scuba. [33], In November 2011, Stuart Gregg received 400,000 compensation for psychological trauma due to having witnessed his father's murder. "Some had to take out loans to buy their safety from this thug and then it turns out he's touting on the UDA's dealers to the cops at the same time.". Simms' demise was the catalyst for the disintegration of Fisher's power base. His perceived "crime" was a throwaway remark he made privately, when he criticised an attack by the South East Antrim UDA on a friend's business. Snoddy died from the illness in September 1988 and English immediately succeeded him. [32], When the taxi stopped at traffic lights close to the motorway, it was rammed by another taxi which had been hijacked earlier on the Shankill Road. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification. [9] Greggs fearsome reputation earned him the nickname the Reaper and he bore a tattoo of the Grim Reaper on his back as a tribute. [35] Afterward, a lone piper led the cortege to Carnmoney Cemetery where he was buried. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [39] A new interim leadership was appointed in their stead although the brigade effectively divided between those who supported the wider UDA leadership and those who remained loyal to Fisher. . "Some families had no involvement in drugs at all but still had to pay to escape being put out, or even worse. Gregg was jailed for 18 years; however, he only served half his sentence and was released in 1993. [26], Adair ignored the expulsion, erecting "West Belfast UDA - Business as Usual" banners on the Shankill Road, whilst continuing his struggles with the remaining brigadiers, Gregg in particular. . [4] The attack had been known in advance by security forces due to a tip-off from informants within Rathcoole; Adams and his co-passengers had survived in part because Royal Ulster Constabulary officers, acting on the informants' information, had replaced much of the ammunition in the UDA's Rathcoole weapons dump with low-velocity bullets. Gregg took this as a threat and, after complaining to senior figures in the West Belfast UDA, ordered the three men to be kneecapped. "Several UDA men told their bosses they wanted him shot dead while others wanted his knees done but they've been ordered by Fisher to leave him alone, for now. [37], Following the conclusion of the feud with Adair the UDA reconstituted its ceasefire in what they christened the "Gregg initiative". UDA. [14] Later in the year, English was forced to confront Adair about rumours that Adair was considering attending an Inner Council meeting armed in order to eliminate the other five brigadiers and assume sole control of the UDA. [19], In late 2001, Gregg's reign of terror in Rathcoole, where drug dealing, knee-capping and savage beatings were the norm, was challenged by local British Labour Party Councillor Mark Langhammer, who also objected to Gregg's close links to neo-Nazi groups in Great Britain. [3] He spent six months in jail for rioting in 1977. as a threat to Mad Dog Adair and his ally John White. In a move that was not universally popular in the region, Fisher allowed the Shoukris and their ally Alan McClean to live under South East Antrim Brigade protection and even attend meetings of the brigade's commanders. BUSINESS UDA signs strategic cooperation with Mara Inc to expand facilities management business " data-media=""> 21/02/2023 09:14 PM KUALA LUMPUR, [46], In March 2014 the South East Antrim Brigade was widely reported as being behind a "rampage" in which up to 100 people, some of them wearing masks, attacked a number of residential properties in Larne. Fri 14 Jan 2022 at 00:30. Watch: Peter Crouch sings the Fields of Athenry with Liverpool fans in Dublin pub, We need government and we need it now Mary Lou McDonald. Fisher associates subjected Simms to a punishment shooting after he was found with his hands in the till. (I.R.A) History & Background. Such was the ferocity of the attack the victim urinated himself while pleading for his life. The 47-year-old had no connections to any paramilitary gang, but was beaten to death in his home in January 2020 after being threatened by the group. I know some comes in from Europe. John Gregg (1957 1 February 2003) was a senior member of the UDA/UFF loyalist paramilitary organisation in Northern Ireland. Both men, who lived on Ferris Avenue, had their houses burnt out during the attack. [67], Threats against journalists and politicians, Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, "Drugs seized in searches linked to South East Antrim UDA", "South East Antrim UDA: 'A criminal cartel wrapped in a flag', "UDA member speaks out about threats and criminality - BBC News", "UDA rebels decommission and condemn McDaid killing", "EXECUTED: Fourth feud killing in four days as loyalist assassins murder UVF man in his flat. The violence, on the Castlemara estate in the town, saw up to 150 loyalists confront each other as members of the 'mainstream' UDA flooded the area in a show of strength against the . His own earliest memory of the Troubles was the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association marches in Derry, a movement to which Gregg and his family were strongly opposed. At the service on 6 February, UVF/RHC representatives joined the UDA leadership in a show of anti-Adair solidarity. Three men were acquitted of his murder. [1][2] It is claimed they control "100%" of an illegal drugs network in south-east Antrim, Northern Ireland. A mural in support of the group lists its areas of activity as being Rathcoole (the mural's location), Rathfern, Monkstown, Glengormley . 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Widely known as a man with a fearsome reputation, Gregg was considered a "hawk" in some loyalist circles. In the later 1980s Snoddy took ill with cancer and many of his duties as brigadier were filled by his ally Joe English. [62], On 8 May 2020 a number of journalists working for the Sunday Life and Sunday World newspapers were warned by the PSNI about imminent attacks against journalists by the South East Antrim UDA. He told author Ian S. Wood that he had only supported the Combined Loyalist Military Command ceasefire in an effort to ensure the release of imprisoned friends. "[1], Following his release from prison, Gregg returned to Rathcoole, where he again became an important figure, taking a central role in the illegal drug trade, with his Rathcoole stronghold a centre of narcotics. Police confirmed that they were treating it as part of the existing feud. Throughout 1999 his brigade continued to be active, undertaking a pipe bomb campaign against Catholic homes whilst on 12 May members of his brigade shot and wounded a Catholic builder in Carrickfergus under the cover name Protestant Liberation Force. [43] Accusations that the brigade has remained active continued, however, and in 2009, the mother of Jason Ballard, a 20-year-old Greenisland native subjected to a vicious beating at his home, claimed that the attack had been carried out by the South East Antrim Brigade, although they denied any involvement in the attack. The coffin was draped in the Ulster flag and the flag of the UFF. [59], On 3 January 2019 police reported a baby in a pram narrowly escaped injury after homes were attacked in Co Down by South East Antrim UDA members. Despite the continuing activity of his brigade, and his own earlier maiming, Gregg shared the reluctance of other brigadiers about what he saw as a coming war between the UVF and West Belfast brigadier Johnny Adair. Read about our approach to external linking. On 8 December a bomb was found under Greggs car, apparently placed there by one of Adairs allies from the Loyalist Volunteer Force. 2 Discover Center Of Taipei ( ), 1 Shifu Rd ( Taipei City Hall Stn ), +886 2 2757-4547. UVF chiefs fear that any deal they do with the British government about going out of business in return for funding and an amnesty will be dependent on Lisa's body being returned to her heartbroken family. ", Please check your inbox to verify your details, Face of man who shot friend in the balls with a crossbow after three-day bender, Babys body found in police hunt for aristocrat Constance Martens missing child, Over 100 patients evacuated as fire fighters battle huge blaze at Wexford General Hospital, Woman aged over 100 shocked by electricity bill, Child of deadbeat dad who left Ireland for new lover says, I dont want him back in my life, Man (20s) arrested as gardai seize 200k worth of cannabis in Limerick raid, Galway driver clocked doing 117km in 50km zone during National Slow Down Day, Parents jailed for killing morbidly obese teenage daughter - full sentencing, Fans slam Disney for race-swapping as first photos of black Tinker Bell released, Man who recognised himself assaulting homeless woman on RTs Crimecall avoids jail, Robbie Lawlor: Judge dismisses claims prison staff spied on man accused of killing gangster, Paedo who sexually assaulted schoolgirls should have faced maximum sentence, judge declares, Garda seize sleeping pills worth 60k as two men arrested in Dublin, Parents of missing baby held on suspicion of manslaughter as search continues, Jurgen Klopp hails 'super important week' for Liverpool's top four push, Molly-Mae welcomes home Tommy Fury after victory over Jake Paul, Use preserved vegetables to combat shortages, says MasterChef host Gregg Wallace, Women MPs lead Commons tributes to former speaker Betty Boothroyd, Episode 250: The new IRA and the attempted murder of PSNI Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell, Belfast workers face UDA death threat after contractors refuse to pay 'protection money', South East Antrim UDA 'deny' involvement after contractors threatened in Belfast estate. 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