I'm loathed to reference a story from the Irish News when it's not clear for how long it will remain freely available online [edit: it's gone], but this one's quite revealing. I earlier mentioned that the cowards of the Real IRA shot two off-duty police officers last November. While looking for a report I could link to on that topic I came across a more recent one which claims that the guns used in those attacks came from "loyalist" drug-dealers linked to the Shoukri brothers (formerly of the UDA).

An unlikely partnership between the paramilitary groups dates back to 2003 when loyalists transported a massive haul of weapons for the Real IRA using routes used to bring drugs into the north.

It is understood the haul included 20 rocket launchers and 12 AK47 assault rifles as well as handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

A haulage firm used as a cover to bring in drugs for the loyalist gang who have links to the Shoukri brothers was paid to safely transport the weapons into Northern Ireland.

"Loyalists gave RIRA guns to shoot cops"
Allison Morris, Irish News, 16/01/08

Follow up:

Morris goes on to claim that a group calling itself the Real UFF (RUFF? Really?) has done you-scratch-my-back type deals with the Real IRA to carry out exchange attacks. Isn't this cross-community co-operation truly heart-warming? If the Real UFF are helping intimidate those alleged to be informing on the Real IRA, their enemy, what possible motive could they have for existing other than to line their own pockets?

Lets face it it's not the first time we've had cause to question the true motives of so-called "loyalist" terrorists and goes to show that they have no principles. No cause that has been used to justify murders in Northern Ireland during the troubles are sufficient to excuse or explain away those crimes but when it's patently obvious that these scum don't believe in anything it seems to make their crimes all the more heinous.