Five people were arrested.
The PSNI has arrested five people in connection to the criminal activities of the Belfast INLA.
Carried out by the Paramilitary Crime Task Force, this was its largest operation to date with over 200 police officers supported by colleagues from the National Crime Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
The people arrested were aged 33, 41, 48, 49 and 51, with three confirmed as being detained under the terrorism act, while a fourth was held on suspicion of Human Trafficking and Controlling Prostitution.
In total, 12 properties were searched in north, south and west Belfast, alongside Lisburn, Crumlin and Newtownabbey in relation to the Belfast INLA's criminal activities.
All five have been taken into custody and are being questioned by detectives.
https://twitter.com/PoliceServiceNI/status/984772430169243648
Commenting on the operation, Head of Crime Operations Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin said:
"The October 2015 Assessment of Paramilitary Groups in NI by PSNI and MI5 at the request of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, stated very clearly that INLA’s structures remained in existence and that its members continued to be heavily involved in criminality including extortion, paramilitary style attacks and violent acts of intimidation against people allegedly involved in dealing drugs in communities.
"These activities were assessed to have a significant and negative impact on local communities and this made the INLA’s a priority for the PCTF. This search and arrest operation is the largest conducted by the Task Force to date and is the result of an investigation that has been under way for a significant period of time into the group’s criminality and specifically its involvement in extortion and prostitution."
https://twitter.com/PoliceServiceNI/status/984807814790045696
Martin went on to say: "There is not and will not be any hiding place for paramilitaries. These criminal gangs destroy people’s lives and harm our communities and we are committed to tackling them head on so that communities and businesses can prosper without any threat or fear.
"Paramilitaries exploit their own communities and others through various types of criminality, including extortion and prostitution, and they are ruthless in their methods including so-called paramilitary style attacks.
"They exploit vulnerability, including younger citizens who can so easily be drawn in. They destroy lives and harm the communities they so often claim to represent."
