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James Craig

James "Jim" Craig (1941-15 October 1988) was an Ulster Defense Association leader and racketeer during The Troubles. Craig was motivated to partake in violence by profit, leading to him helping the UDA, Ulster Volunteer Force, Provisional IRA, and Irish National Liberation Army whenever they suited his needs. The UDA assassinated him in 1988.

Biography[]

James Craig was born in Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1941, and he worked as a boxer before joining the Ulster Defense Association in prison. After being released in 1976, he became the UDA's chief fundraiser, and he would become a powerful organized crime boss, making a profit from his "commission". Craig led a massive racketeering operation that did business not only with Ulster unionist groups, but also with Irish republican groups such as the Provisional IRA and the Irish National Liberation Army. Craig had UDA leader John McMichael murdered to prevent McMichael from revealing his racketeering, but his involvement in crime later became apparent to the whole UDA, especially after he had a television presenter murdered for accusing him of being a criminal. On 15 October 1988, he was lured to the Castle Inn in East Belfast by the Ulster Freedom Fighters, who claimed that a UDA meeting was being held there; two gunmen killed him when he arrived at the meeting.

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