Pair jailed over site extortion

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Two Newtownabbey men involved in a protection racket have been jailed for four-and-a-half years.

William McTaggart, 38, of Carmeen Drive and James Jameson, 46, Shore Road, admitted blackmailing a builder.

They demanded £15,000 from the building contractor, who was working at a site in the Rathcoole estate last year.

Jailing the pair, Belfast Crown Court judge Tom Burgess said there was the "implication of paramilitary involvement" in the case.

The judge said said that whether or not a paramilitary gang was involved, their victim, referred to as Witness A, "would have had the grounds and the feeling that such a group was involved".

Prosecution told the court that the building company Witness A worked for started work at a site near the Diamond in the Rathcoole estate in January.

Within a short space of time, the site foreman phoned him and said he had to speak with a man called 'Phil'.

Witness A told 'Phil' he could not see him but gave him his mobile number and contacted the police, who carried out a two month surveillance operation.

On 1 March, at nearby Abbot's Cross, Witness A met two men driving a BMW calling themselves 'Billy' and 'Paul' who demanded £15,000 so work could continue at the site without incident.

Four days later, after police supplied him with a covert recording device and a Tesco's bag with £1,000 in notes, Witness A met the driver of the BMW in the car park at the Fern Lodge on the Doagh Road and after following him to the Ballyduff estate, handed over the cash.

The court heard that just a few hours later, the BMW car was found on fire near Ballyclare.

Following the police operation, McTaggart and Jameson were arrested in their respective homes on 8 March, and charged with the blackmail but gave "no comment" during police interview.

Handing down the jail terms, and 18 month probation terms to be served on release, Judge Burgess said there were aggravating factors in the offence.

He said these were that it had the "character of a protection racket", the large amount of money demanded, "the implication of paramilitary involvement" and the fact that it was not spontaneous but a planned extortion attempt.