Loyalist crime wave in the Antrim glens

A loyalist paramilitary gang is engaged in a spate of attacks in the Glens of Antrim, with little interest shown by the police, according to Sinn Féin.

In the latest incident, a delivery driver was attacked in Glenarm on Wednesday morning.

The victim ran off after being assaulted by two men, who then climbed into his van and attempted to set fire to it.

Sinn Féin’s Oliver McMullan said it was the latest crime carried out in the picturesque seaside village by a gang with UVF links.

“The public are saying to themselves, ’here we go again, there will be nothing done about this’,” he said.

“Some of this gang have connections to the UVF.

“How are we to have confidence in the police when we are told to come forward but when that is done nothing seems to happen?

“The knock-on effect of that is that young people in our area see what is happening and when nothing is being done they are wondering why the police crack down on them.”

The Sinn Féin assembly member highlighted several incidents he said the PSNI have failed to act on.

“Why is the village being held to ransom by a gang that seems to be able to do what they want, when they want?” he said.

“I am calling for policing to be seen to be working.”

One family has been subjected to three separate arson attacks in the town which have been linked to the same gang.

The Polish family who moved to the area this year, said they were left terrified by the attacks last year.

“If the neighbours had not come we may never have woken,” she said following the most recent incident.

“We are very lucky, if you can call it lucky... We just want to live in peace. We want to live like everyone else here.”

Urgent Appeal