Former UVF thug ‘shoplifting to feed crack cocaine addiction’, court told

Former UVF thug ‘shoplifting to feed crack cocaine addiction’, court told

IN CUSTODY | Former UVF thug ‘shoplifting to feed crack cocaine addiction’, court told
Former Crusaders footballer Darren Moore stole 20 legs of lamb, bedding and cooking pots worth £534 on a single day

Former UVF hood Darren Moore was remanded into custody yesterday accused of more shoplifting offences, allegedly committed within hours of him being freed on bail.

Standing in the dock of Ballymena Magistrates Court, 54-year-old Moore was charged with three counts of theft, two relating to incidents on 14 December in Boots and B&M Bargains and one from Poundland on November 30 this year.

According to the charges Moore, from the Crebilly Road in Ballymena, stole softener and laundry detergent with £111 from B&M, £19 of “beauty products” from Boots and £36 of groceries from Poundland.

The former UVF gangster was also charged with trying to steal alcohol from Lidl on December 14.

Constable Wells told the court she believed she could connect Moore to each of the charges, adding that police were also objecting to bail due to fears that Moore would commit further offences.

She highlighted that in his 37 previous offences, Moore has seven entries for theft and had been dealt with at the same court just a few hours before his latest offences.

In court on Thursday, Moore was handed a six-month jail sentence for a series of thefts and driving offences committed between 9 March and 21 September this year.

The court heard that using the same modus operandi, Moore walked into his local Tesco, loaded up and trolley with food or groceries and simply walked out but that on each occasion, he was identified by staff and by CCTV footage.

Amongst his ill-gotten gains, former Crusaders footballer Moore stole 20 legs of lamb, bedding and cooking pots worth £534 on a single day while the other charges relate to food, electrical items, alcohol and groceries worth a total of £462.

He had also admitted two making off without payments charges relating to his failure to pay for £20 and £35 worth of fuel and to taking and driving away, driving without insurance and driving while banned.

During a plea in mitigation on Thursday, defence counsel Neil Moore said the defendant was stealing the various goods to sell them on “on order to feed his addiction to crack cocaine”.

He lamented the fact that as a teenager, Moore had a six-month trial with Millwall FC but due to being homesick, he came back to Northern Ireland. On his return, he “became involved in matters that were associated with the Troubles”.

More recently Moore, who was once the former right hand man of Mount Vernon UVF Chief Mark Haddock, was “expelled from the area where he grew up” and he had been subjected to multiple severe beatings at the hands of his former associates, said the barrister.

While Mr Moore “implored” the judge to impose a probation order to help the defendant address his addiction to crack cocaine, District Judge Nigel Broderick said despite counsel’s “impassioned plea, unfortunately the facts are so serious that the custody threshold has been crossed”.

In addition to the six-month jail sentence, Moore was also handed a two-year driving ban. However, the judge freed him on bail pending an appeal of the jail sentence.

In court yesterday, District Judge Francis Rafferty refused bail, highlighting that “within hours” of being freed by the court, Moore had allegedly committed further offences.