Crime gang Action Against Drugs is running a lucrative gun for hire racket.
The north Belfast mob is in possession of a single AK47 assault rifle and has been offering it out for rent.
The gang will rent the gun for an agreed period of time at an agreed price to criminals to carry out activities that would require fire power.
And for an extra, substantial cash payment, they will even agree to claim responsibility for any shootings carried out by ‘clients’ under the banner of AAD.
The gun, once in the possession of the IRA, has a bloody history and is believed to have been used in the murder of low level drug dealer Danny McKay, shot in the Longlands estate on the outskirts of north Belfast two years ago.
The Sunday World understands a number of criminal gangs have been approached by AAD with the offer of an AK47.
The AK47 previously belonged to the Provisional IRA.
Killed: Danny McKay
“AAD has just proven once again that they would do anything for cash,” said our source.
“They’ve always been like that their only loyalty is to money, it’s their only interest and they will do anything to make a few pounds.”
The Sunday World has previously revealed how the New Lodge based outfit has been targeting drug dealers demanding payment in return for allowing them to deal on their patch.
Headed by Danny McKay murder suspect, Roy McAuley, AAD masquerades as an anti-drug vigilante group. In reality their mission is to control the narcotics trade.
“They are not making as much as they would like extorting the money from the drug dealers so this is the gang’s new racket, renting out the AK to anyone who is willing to pay.
“They have even thrown in an extra option of letting anyone who uses the weapon in a shooting to use AAD as a cover name, that’s how desperate they are for cash and some of us are not too happy about this arrangement, so many things could go wrong like never getting the gun back,” the associate said. The Sunday World can reveal AAD approached one well-known Belfast criminal in recent weeks to offer him their services even claiming they had the back of the IRA had the protection of the provos in a bid to give themselves more credibility.
These claims come as McAuley finds himself under mounting pressure as tensions in North Belfast continue to rise due to his power struggle with members of the INLA.
Last week the Sunday World revealed how McAuley was vying for control of the narcotics trade against a band of brothers who are connected to the republican paramilitary group.
The Sunday World can also reveal McAuley has also approached respected republicans in the area to claim that any allegations made against him were concocted by the INLA members.
“It’s Alice in Wonderland stuff, he has nowhere near the level of confidence he had six or seven months ago. That’s why he’s running about Belfast telling people that he has the backing of the Provo’s which is laughable, they regard him with the highest contempt and with suspicion.
“He thinks that if people think he has the support of mainstream republicans it will offer him a bit more protection but all he is doing is racking up more trouble for himself.
“People know what he is saying and his activities are being monitored, he is a criminal under pressure and his recent actions and ludicrous claims prove that,” the source added.
Like so many others McAuley is viewed with suspicion after being stopped by police in a car with false number plates and a large sum of unexplained cash. He was never arrested.
However he was named by police, in court, as the chief suspect in the murder of Danny McKay, who had refused to pay extortion demands by McAuley’s gang, then known as Correct Action Against Drugs.
Meanwhile the turf war between McAuley’s crew and the INLA brothers continues to simmer.
