‘RAAD’ now operating in north Belfast – reports
Vigilante group Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD), which was formed in Derry, now appear to have spread to Belfast.
The group has been responsible for dozens of gun and bomb attacks in the north west over the last three years, including the murder of Andrew Allen in Buncrana, are now operating in North Belfast, according to press reports.
The ‘North Belfast News’ reported that a group calling itself Republican Action Against Drugs (RAAD) claimed responsibility for shooting a man from the New Lodge area of the Belfast two weeks ago.
The newspaper also claimed that RAAD, which it described as “a dissident republican group,” claimed to have seized a quantity of cannabis from a house in the city last week.
The report also said that RAAD warned that more people would be targeted over alleged drug dealing in the coming weeks.
It is be lived to be the first time a group calling itself RAAD has operated in the Belfast area.
Over the last three years, RAAD has been involved in dozens of gun and bomb attacks in Derry, Inishowen, Letterkenny, Strabane, and Dungiven, and has claimed to have “units” on both sides of the border.
It is not known if the group operating in Belfast is linked to the Derry-based organisation or a separate body using the same name.
