4.3.05
BBC
Loyalist jailed over UDA attacks
A loyalist who confessed to police that he had taken part in a series of attacks for the UDA has been jailed for five years.
Belfast Crown Court heard that Gary Martin Smyth walked into Coleraine police station in January 2003 and admitted the offences.
They included a pipe bomb attack on a blind pensioner's house as well as gun attacks on other homes.
In all Smyth, from Glenvara Drive in Coleraine, admitted 15 offences.
Mr Justice McLaughlin said he had no doubt that his "full and frank account" had given the police a "deeper understanding" of the UDA's structure and manpower in the Coleraine area.
He said that "by doing so you have saved lives and prevented injuries".
Cruel
The judge described the pipe bomb attack as "particularly mean and cruel".
"What happened that night tells us all we need to know about the UDA as an organisation," he added.
Smyth also confessed to conspiring with others to commit attempted murder and a number of woundings and six counts of possessing pistols, shotguns and ammunition.
All the offences happened between August 2000 and January 2003.
Loyalist jailed over UDA attacks
A loyalist who confessed to police that he had taken part in a series of attacks for the UDA has been jailed for five years.
Belfast Crown Court heard that Gary Martin Smyth walked into Coleraine police station in January 2003 and admitted the offences.
They included a pipe bomb attack on a blind pensioner's house as well as gun attacks on other homes.
In all Smyth, from Glenvara Drive in Coleraine, admitted 15 offences.
Mr Justice McLaughlin said he had no doubt that his "full and frank account" had given the police a "deeper understanding" of the UDA's structure and manpower in the Coleraine area.
He said that "by doing so you have saved lives and prevented injuries".
Cruel
The judge described the pipe bomb attack as "particularly mean and cruel".
"What happened that night tells us all we need to know about the UDA as an organisation," he added.
Smyth also confessed to conspiring with others to commit attempted murder and a number of woundings and six counts of possessing pistols, shotguns and ammunition.
All the offences happened between August 2000 and January 2003.
