A newly formed criminal gang labelling itself Correct Action Against Drugs was behind the brutal murder of a North Belfast man two weeks ago.

The gang, which contains former members of the RIRA, CIRA, IRA and INLA, carried out the vicious slaying of 36 year old Danny McKay as a warning to major drug dealers not to reject their extortion demands.

The gang members include residents of Newtownabbey, New Lodge, Carrickhill and West Belfast. The car used in the killing was stolen from a family in the New Lodge and found burnt out in the west.

Spurred on by the spoils being gathered by groups such as ONH and CIRA – who are already raking in hundreds of thousands of pounds in extortion money from drug dealers across the city – the gang’s bloody aim was to strike fear into dealers, some of whom have already rebuffed their demands.

It is widely accepted that popular father-of one McKay was not a key player in the drug trade and was ambushed as a soft target who would not be armed or have tight security around his house such was the insignificance of his role.

One of the two gunmen who shot the Whitewell man at least six times with a rifle and a pistol shouted “that’s the end of dealing in Longlands” as they ran from his Longlands Road home. However their use of the paramilitary style name, CAAD and a veil of ‘dissident republicanism’ is merely a smokescreen for their attempts to build their own criminal empire.

One of the key figures was a leading member of the RIRA in Belfast until he was recently expelled after a row over money. The well known North Belfast man was thrown out of the group after not disclosing taking a cut from a robbery on a security van in the city centre. Following an investigation by the organisation into the incident by a Real IRA kingpin from Belfast, now based in Dublin, the local man was expelled.

Another man, who was a member of the INLA but also had links with the CIRA, has also had a recent fall out with paramilitaries but this time with the UVF over his criminal activities.

And despite their claims of taking ‘Correct Action Against Drugs’ another gang member – part of a well known crime family in the North of the city – has offered his “services” to drug dealers, that is, being paid to protect them from attack.

Sources told the Belfast Media Group that the particularly brutal manner of Danny McKay’s killing was intended as a gruesome warning to major dealers who have already ignored extortion demands. A leading dealer based in Glengormley is believed to have ignored demands for a cut of his profits whilst another ‘importer’ had a viable device placed under his car following a similar rebuff to the extortionists.

“There have been substantial attempts to extort these key players, and some attempts to make them pay for not coughing up,” said one source.

“Danny McKay’s murder was a further warning – to them and others – that these guys are not messing about. They need to be seen to be capable of carrying out these acts for their plans to work.

“They have their sights set on building their own criminal empire and their claims of dissident republicanism are, they think, a convenient flag to use.

“However they made a mistake with Danny McKay because everyone knew he was small fry. If they wanted to target a top dealer for the sake of the community, well there were 20 or 30 they’d have driven past before they got to him.”

At the time of going to print a 49-year-old man arrested on Wednesday in the New Lodge was still in custody at Antrim Serious Crime Suite.