Paramilitary gangsters in North of Ireland continue to extort businesses

“If we go to the police, we would be killed.” Those are the words of a woman featured in a BBC report about paramilitary extortion rackets in the North of Ireland. The investigation spoke to:

…business owners anonymously about being threatened to pay money to proscribed organisations. It includes those running restaurants or shops and those in the construction industry.

The paramilitaries involved would previously have been participants in the sectarian warfare that characterised The Troubles in Ireland.

Since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, that kind of violence has hugely declined. Paramilitarism remains a feature of the Six Counties, however, particularly in organised crime. The payments which gangsters demand from businesses are typically described as ‘protection money’. The name implies you will receive protection from some unspecified threat, but in reality you are paying to avoid beating or death from those demanding it.

Sometimes the thugs characterise it in other ways. One respondent to the BBC said:

I have never been asked to pay for protection, but they asked me to contribute to the community activities which I did do.

Reverse-Robin Hood paramilitaries rob from those least able to pay

The report refers to “shops, salons and restaurants” as among the businesses targeted. Construction sites are another common source of revenue for paramilitaries. What this essentially amounts to is a regressive tax on people of average income.

The thugs aren’t going to Tesco management, Intel or JP Morgan to demand a cut of their profits. They’re robbing small local businesses often struggling to survive in a climate where large corporations relentlessly lobby government, and where the high street already struggles to survive.

Of course, such gangsters rob everyone on a daily basis, a fact highlighted by the Independent Reporting Commission (IRC) which monitors paramilitary activity. They pointed out that:

If paramilitarism is not brought to an end, it will continue to create
unmanageable strain on public finances through its direct and indirect harms.

This cost to us all comes from the increased policing expenses required to deal with the issue, especially when paramilitaries drive instances of mass rioting and racial pogroms, such as those they stoked in Ballymena in June 2025. The IRC reported with “no doubt” that there was paramilitary involvement in the riots, which took place among loyalist communities in the town. The Belfast Telegraph reported how:

Almost 50 children have been referred to social services by the PSNI after race riots in Northern Ireland over the last two years.

‘Protection’ scam extends to exploiting kids

These are kids who are coerced into participating in criminal racist behaviour. Those with links to far-right loyalist paramilitaries often like to parade as the protectors of women and children. However, as in the case of ‘protection money’, it’s the men in balaclavas who people need protecting from.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission has warned that the Justice Bill before the Northern Ireland Assembly may not provide sufficient protection against criminalising children dragged into crime by paramilitaries. The bill seeks to bring the Six Counties somewhere close to parity with Britain, as the former has previously lacked legislation to deal with organised crime.

Some indicators show a decline in paramilitary activity. The Police Service of Northern Ireland’s (PSNI) Security Situation Statistics give an indication of this. In their latest report, which covers the period from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, there were:

…no security related deaths, compared to one during the previous 12 months.

Shooting incidents also declined from 16 to 11. The chief constable of the PSNI Jon Boutcher has expressed optimism about a downgrading of the security threat rating in coming years. He says it may go from its current ‘substantial’ level to ‘moderate’, meaning “an attack is possible, but not likely.”

Of course, this assessment is based on threats to the state, rather than the general threat posed to the population at large by paramilitary violence, nevermind the other costs.

PSNI must take a share of the blame

The PSNI itself has some role to play in the continued role in daily life of paramilitaries. It has turned a blind eye to displays by violent groups such as the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), while arresting peaceful Palestine Action protesters. Like police forces in Britain, it continues to maintain relatively low ratings from the public. According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA):

60.6% thought police were not visible or not very visible in their local area.

67.5% were satisfied with the job the PSNI do in Northern Ireland.

61.4% were confident in PSNI’s ability to protect and serve.

63.8% thought the PSNI were engaged or very engaged with local communities

While this remains the case, some people will still see paramilitaries as a local replacement for cops, perceived as cracking down on drug dealers and petty crime. This is the legacy of The Troubles — a police force still beholden to appalling British law, and the long tail of paramilitary thuggery given life by an inadequate political settlement.

Featured image via Nazli Tarzi