An alleged former top UVF member was among three men remanded in custody in connection with a pipe bomb attack seven years ago.
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Police claimed the trio is suspected of involvement in a plot to target the girlfriend of a man due to testify about a brutal assault he was subjected to.
Robert Warnock, 62, of New Barnsley Park, William Young, 40, and Raymond Burns, 32, are each charged with belonging to the UVF at the time and conspiring to intimidate Crown witness Trevor Gowdy.
Young, of Silvio Street, Belfast is also accused of conspiracy to cause an explosion, while Burns, from Ballyvessey Court, Newtownabbey, faces further counts of possessing a pipe bomb and causing an explosion.
All three men were charged by detectives from the serious crime branch as part of Operation Ballast, an ongoing probe into UVF crime in north Belfast.
He told Belfast Magistrates Court the charges related to a pipe bomb attack in September 2003 at the family home in Larne, Co Antrim of Mr Gowdy's then girlfriend.
The officer said: "That is the length to which this group has gone to."
He confirmed the case against the three accused was based on witness statements supplied by Newtownabbey brothers David and Robert Stewart, who were jailed for three years last week for dozens of terrorist crimes after turning so-called supergrasses.
During the hearing a prosecution lawyer alleged the evidence against Warnock is that he was "an extremely senior member of the UVF" at the time of the offences.
All three accused were remanded in custody to appear again via video-link next month.
© UTV News