Loyalist dispute cost £1.6m
Nine arrests have been made in Carrick's Castlemara estate during the past seven months in connection with an ongoing loyalist dispute which has cost £1.6 million to police.
Assistant Chief Constable Stephen Martin said that the dispute involved the South East Antrim UDA and a local family.
Guns and cocaine were discovered during searches and charges have been brought for possession of weapons, intimidation and drugs.
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Hide AdThe officer admitted that police were extremely concerned about the situation in the Castlemara estate.
He stated that a PSNI presence is required in the estate on a daily basis and added that this is draining funds and diverting resources from other priorities.
East Antrim Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson described the policing cost as a “public scandal”.
He said: “It is a disgrace that money is not being deployed in a more appropriate way such as community policing.”