SIX men from Greenisland in Co. Antrim have pleaded guilty to cocaine supply offences following an investigation into the UDA.
The men appeared before Belfast Crown Court last week, where they all admitted a charge of conspiracy to possess controlled Class A drugs with intent to supply.
Clifford Irons, 47, of Shannagh Avenue, Glenn Burns, 42, of Moyard Gardens, David Weir, 43, of Rossmore Green, Daniel Vance, 37, of Glenkeen Drive, Dean Cromie, 28, of Kinbayne Avenue and Darren Kelly, 56, of Kinbayne Crescent will be sentenced at the same court on November 7.
The investigation was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), working as part of the Paramilitary Crime Task Force (PCTF).
It saw more than 1kg of cocaine seized in Greenisland as part of an investigation into the organised crime activities of the South East Antrim UDA.
NCA and PSNI investigators worked closely with the Public Prosecution Service of Northern Ireland (PPS) to build a case against all six, resulting in the guilty pleas.
The NCA, PSNI and HMRC established the PCTF to tackle criminality linked to paramilitarism as part of the Executive’s plan to tackle paramilitary activity, criminality and organised crime.