DETECTIVES have made a breakthrough in the hunt for the sectarian
killers of Belfast Roman Catholic taxi drivers, it was revealed
yesterday.
At least five men from loyalist parts of the city are being questioned
at Castlereagh, and, according to security sources, one will be charged
with murder.
Guns and ammunition, seized in different parts of north, south, and
west Belfast, are being ballistically tested as part of the inquiry.
More than 70 detectives are involved in the search for the killers of
taxi drivers, and it is believed one of those detained has been
interrogated about the murder of father-of-four Michael Lenaghan, 49,
who was lured to his death by the Ulster Volunteer Force in the Shankill
area last March.
He was shot in the head and back after picking up passengers from his
city centre depot at Finaghy.
The men held are also being questioned about the attempted murder of
another taxi driver who was ambushed in the grounds of Belfast Castle,
in the north of the city, in August.
It is understood a number of men are likely to be charged in
connection with weapons found in raids in Protestant areas of Belfast in
the past week.
Meanwhile, details were revealed of the amazing survival of the young
Roman Catholic shot by gunmen who accused him of being an IRA spy.
The 28-year old, from Dunlaoghaire, south of Dublin, travelled by
train to Belfast on Friday, apparently his first trip to the city.
According to security sources, he wandered into the Protestant
Shankill district, visiting a number of public houses. At one, he was
seized by four youths and dragged to the basement of flats at Malvern
Court where he was beaten.
He was shot in the arm, the back of the head and through the mouth.
One of the bullets lodged in his neck and 16[1/2] hours later he was
found lying in blood.
The outlawed loyalist paramilitary organisation, the UFF, claimed he
was spying for the IRA, but this was rejected by police.
According to security sources, one of the bars visited by the man was
the Diamond Jubilee bar where a Protestant customer Harry Ward, 38, was
shot dead by the IPLO, a Republican terror group, earlier this month.
The man is recovering in the Mater Hospital.
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