DRUG DEALERS in Northern Ireland have bought guns from an arms dealer in the Republic and have formed a special assassination unit to target IRA members, criminal sources have told The Irish Times.
A source in west Belfast said that a group of leading drug dealers in the city had bought four handguns on the black market in Dublin within the past fortnight.
They planned to kill IRA members who they believed had been involved in Direct Action Against Drugs (DAAD), he said. It is widely accepted that DAAD is a cover name for the IRA.
Seven alleged drug dealers have been shot dead since the IRA ceasefire. DAAD has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks and security sources believe all were carried out by the IRA.
The criminal source said the dealers were motivated by revenge. Several were associates of Mr Martin McCrory (30), who was shot dead by DAAD as he watched television with his children in his west Belfast home last December. He was involved in the drugs trade in a minor capacity.
The drug dealers are reportedly planning to mount their attacks just before or after the start of all party talks. They believe the IRA will be extremely vulnerable at this time as political pressure at home and abroad will prevent retaliation.
"Four of the men involved his are Belfast's leading dealers," the source said. They are hard nosed men. They wouldn't have taken on the IRA the past because it would been suicide. But they believe the ceasefire has weakened the Provos and that they won't be able to hit back because of all party talks. If the Provos started killing people during negotiations, the peace process would be over.
"These people believe that the IRA have walked all over them since the ceasefire and murdered their friends. But they think that their day of reckoning is coming."
The source said the four dealers were supported by about 10 other minor figures. Their first planned target is an alleged IRA man in Ballymurphy, who they claim killed Mr McCrory. The source named the man, a republican activist in his 20s.
An RUC spokesman said that any threats were to be condemned. "We are not in a position to comment on this specific claim, but our position is absolutely clear. Any threat of violence is to be deplored and anyone with any information should contact the police."
It is believed that the IRA will be taking steps to deal with the threat. Any attacks on its members would put the peace process under severe strain in nationalist areas.