EXCLUSIVE: PCTF targeting UDA in North Down
Downtown/Cool FM joined the Paramilitary Crime Task Force on an operation targeting drug dealers with suspected links to the UDA in North Down.
It comes as part of our Save The Next One campaign aimed at preventing more drug deaths in Northern Ireland.
On the morning of the operation, our Special Correspondent Damien Edgar joined members of the task force for their briefing.
Between 20 and 30 officers were squeezed into a room in the Holywood PSNI station, as we were given details on what the day's operations would entail.
The detective sergeant leading the investigation, who cannot be named due to security concerns, outlined that there would be four targeted searches within the Kilcooley Estate in Bangor.
"The background to this is there is loyalist paramilitary activity in North Down," he explained.
"Drug dealing is prevalent throughout this grouping.
"The information is that the residents of the houses you're going to search today are dealing drugs on behalf of the UDA."
He also made clear that the searches were being based off intelligence they had received in the area, with the idea to go in with minimal fuss and without alerting any potential suspects to the operation before it began.
The officers were then split into their teams, for the four searches that would be carried out across the course of the day.
Following the briefing, the task force members all geared up with body armour and many equipping themselves with heavy duty rifles.
Within 15 minutes, the teams were ready to go and around seven or eight armoured land rivers left the station.
On the way I asked the op lead what he thought they might find in Bangor.
"Obviously this is a search for drugs and we hope we'll be successful," he said.
"There could be any type of drugs, prescription type drugs or even cocaine.
"This is intelligence-led and there could be literally anything in here."
In Kilcooley, there was little resistance to the presence of heavily armed police on the estate.
The first house we visited turned out to be unoccupied, with the door actually boarded up.
However, there were a number of items out the back of the house, including children's toys, to suggest people had been living in the property very recently.
Around six or seven officers then worked on the door of the property, using tools to pick the lock before letting themselves in.
Unfortunately, it seemed the house held very little for the unit, with only a lunchbox full of suspected mixing agent being spotted inside.
Simultaneously, another search had been launched in a separate area of the estate.
There was a degree more success there, with a mobile phone recovered from a man inside the house.
He appeared to be anxious about that, with his heads held over his face and rubbing his head repeatedly.
When the man caught sight of me outside his property, he started to shout swear words and point his finger, before eventually throwing a packet of cigarettes at the window.
Police were able to clam him down, but it was an illustration of how quickly a situation can turn and a suspect can become agitated.
Sources on the ground indicated they were hopeful the phone would prove to be valuable in gathering further intelligence, while a small amount of cannabis resin was also recovered from the house.
With the first two operations coming to a close for the day and little headline seizures being made, I asked the head of the PCTF, Detective Superintendent Bobby Singleton, how he viewed the day's returns.
"There may be a frustration but I think ultimately we understand it's a long game," he said.
"If we're unsuccessful on the first occasion, we'll maybe look at different investigations and avenues to get into these groups," he said.
"We don't allow ourselves to be dictated to by one piece of activity.
"This is one part of a much bigger piece of work, one we know is going to take a considerable length of time."
However, there was some better news to come, with intelligence from the initial operation leading to the seizure of cannabis in the same area around a week and a half later.
The 'skunk' type Class B drug is estimated to be worth around £5,000.
A 39-year-old man was also arrested as a result of that discovery.
If you wish to contact us to tell us your story of how drugs have impacted your life, you can do so by emailing news@downtown.co.uk or if you wish to seek help for addiction issues, more information can be found here.