23/09/2002

Leading loyalist to appear in court

Leading north Belfast loyalist Andre Shoukri has appeared in Belfast Magistrates Court this morning charged with having a gun with intent to endanger life.

Twenty-five-year-old Shoukri, who is believed to be the brigadier of the UDA in north Belfast, was arrested in Rathcoole, on the outskirts of Belfast, on Saturday.

Mr Shoukri was arrested, along with a 39-year-old man, after police intercepted the car they were travelling in on Saturday night. A search of the vehicle revealed an automatic pistol along with ammunition.

The second man who was detained will also appear in court today on the same charges after being charged by police on Sunday night.

The arrests were part of a crackdown by police on loyalist paramilitary activity in Belfast after the recent murder of LVF member Stephen Warnock in Newtownards and the wounding of senior UDA member Jim Gray in a reprisal shooting last Monday.

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