The UDA bail saga continues

Having noted reports that there would be an application to revoke Ihab Shoukri’s bail, on charges of membership of the UDA/UFF, after he was arrested and charged with handling stolen property… an update. The application has been refused. It seems the “stolen property” is currency and, whilst the police are connecting that currency to a raid in Larne on St Patrick’s Day, “The judge said there was room for argument as to how Shoukri came to be in possession of currency stolen in a raid in Larne on St Patrick’s Day.” – More below the fold. Also from the BBC report

[Shoukri] has been living at a secret address since his return, but the court was told on Tuesday that police no longer approve of the secret address because of renewed threats to his life.

The judge said if a suitable alternative address could not be agreed then the matter should come back before him.

Previously similar threats to two men charged in connection with the original meeting at the Alexandra Bar had been attributed by the Crown prosecution lawyer to the good “mainstream UDA” and ongoing threats to Shoukri were noted when he was initially bailed

And, meanwhile, let’s not forget that other [public] currency is still earmarked for the benefit of that good “mainstream UDA”.

We are reader supported. Donate to keep Slugger lit!

For over 20 years, Slugger has been an independent place for debate and new ideas. We have published over 40,000 posts and over one and a half million comments on the site. Each month we have over 70,000 readers. All this we have accomplished with only volunteers we have never had any paid staff.

Slugger does not receive any funding, and we respect our readers, so we will never run intrusive ads or sponsored posts. Instead, we are reader-supported. Help us keep Slugger independent by becoming a friend of Slugger. While we run a tight ship and no one gets paid to write, we need money to help us cover our costs.

If you like what we do, we are asking you to consider giving a monthly donation of any amount, or you can give a one-off donation. Any amount is appreciated.