Republican News · Thursday 23 January 2003

Community workers names and details found on UDA disc.

The names and addresses of prominent Sinn Féin officials and nationalist community workers in North and East Belfast have been found on a computer disc following a PSNI raid connected to the ongoing UDA feud on premises in Carrickfergus on 9 January.

drew Logan faced four charges when he appeared at a Belfast Court on Wednesday 15 January after members of the PSNI searched a house at Castlemara Drive, Carrickfergus.

Logan,29, from Cairnhill Walk in Carrickfergus, was charged with possessing a booby trap car bomb, pipe bomb components, tilt switches, timers and assorted bomb making equipment with intent to endanger life.

Logan was also charged with possessing a gun, approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition and a computer disc containing information that could be useful to terrorists. He was remanded in custody.

Rosemary Robb, 44, in whose house the bomb making materials were found, and her 19-year-old daughter Tammy, were released on bail last week.

Nationalist community workers, who have been at the forefront of attempts to end the interface violence which has taken place throughout Belfast over the past number of years, were subsequently visited by members of the PSNI and warned that their names and personal details were in the hands of loyalists.

Upper Falls Sinn Féin councillor Michael Browne told An Phoblacht his details were on the disc discovered in Carrickfergus.

"The discovery is a reminder of the threat the UDA continues to pose to the nationalist community," he said. "Given the tendency of loyalist organisations to end internecine feuds such as that in which the UDA is currently engaged by pulling together in an intensified campaign against nationalists, it is essential that we are made aware of the full extent of the information contained on this disc.

"All people named should be advised to step up their personal security as a matter of urgency. Nobody should underestimate the desire of the UDA to intensify its campaign of sectarian killings."

Shoukri released on bail

North Belfast UDA commander and former close associate of jailed UDA leader Johnny Adair, André Shoukri, was released on bail from Maghaberry Prison on Wednesday 15 January.

Shoukri, 25, nicknamed "the Egyptian", from Sunningdale Gardens, Belfast, was arrested at Rathcoole Drive in Newtownabbey when members of the PSNI stopped a Ford Sierra in which he was travelling and found a Walther pistol and 30 rounds of ammunition following a search of the vehicle in September 2002.

Shourki applied for bail for the second time on Tuesday 14 January after being refused bail in October. Justice Nicholson said he was not satisfied the prosecution had made a case that Shourki would be a danger to others if released.

Nicholson fixed bail at £6,000 and ordered Shoukri to stay at an address approved by the PSNI and to stay out of North Belfast. He was also told to observe a nighttime curfew and not to contact any member of an illegal organisation.

In July 2002, Shoukri, as a member of the Loyalist Commission met with the then British Secretary of State John Reid. At the time of his arrest, Shoukri was the so called Brigadier of the UDA in North Belfast.

Shoukri's release from Maghaberry comes days after his onetime mentor, Johnny Adair, was returned to prison after British Secretary of State Paul Murphy revoked his licence.