Northern Ireland's anti-racketeering agency said today it had successfully seized assets valued at £1.25 million pounds from the estate of a Northern Irish paramilitary godfather killed in an underworld feud.
The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) said the civil recovery order granted against the estate of ex-paramilitary boss Jim Johnston at Belfast High Court under new powers targeting organised crime was the first such seizure in the UK to top one million pounds.
Johnston (45) a leading figure in the Red Hand Commandos was shot dead outside his home near Bangor, 10 miles east of Belfast, in May last year.
Security sources said they believed he was killed in retaliation for the shooting dead in 2002 of rival Loyalist Volunteer Force (LVF) commander Stephen Warnock in a feud over control of the drugs trade.
"This is an important landmark for the agency and its partners in the fight against organised crime," said the ARA's Northern Ireland chief Mr Alan McQuillan.
"The outcome of this case is a very visible reminder to everyone in the community that there is no hiding place for ill-gotten gains."
The ARA said the assets seized, which included Johnston's luxury house outside Belfast and a holiday home in the Republic, were the proceeds of drug dealing and terrorism.
The UK-wide agency was set up in February last year as part of Britain's Proceeds of Crime Act. Its work has received particular attention in Northern Ireland, where many organised crime operations are controlled by paramilitary groups.
Leaders of outlawed armed groups on both sides of the sectarian divide have become conspicuously wealthy from activities ranging from drug dealing and extortion to cross-border smuggling and counterfeiting.