One of the top loyalist paramilitaries in Belfast is in police custody following a major security operation in the outskirts of the city.
The Ulster Defence Association's north Belfast brigadier was one of two men arrested when officers stopped a car and seized a pistol and ammunition in the Rathcoole estate in Newtownabbey.
A senior security source said: "We are absolutely delighted. This is a major coup to get this guy."
Amid fears of an all-out shooting war between rival loyalists after one terrorist was murdered and another injured earlier this month, police have mounted a huge surveillance operation across Belfast.
It was as part of that crackdown that the vehicle was stopped today at Rathcoole, a staunchly Protestant housing estate ruled by loyalist paramilitary organisations.
The two men arrested were in possession of a semi-automatic pistol, police confirmed.
But it was the status of one of those detained for questioning which led security chiefs to regard this as a major blow in the fight against the terrorists.
The UDA boss was only installed as one of that organisation's six brigadiers who sit on its inner council within the past few months.
He is known to be a close associate of the notorious Ulster Freedom Fighters leader Johnny Adair, who was returned to the streets of Belfast earlier this year after serving a 16-year prison sentence for directing terrorism.
One security source said: "We have been working for months to try and pin down the UDA people in north Belfast.
"This was a major surveillance operation and as part of that we have just got lucky by getting this guy."
Alan McQuillan, Assistant Chief Constable for the whole of the city, insisted his officers have been working round the clock in a bid to quell the rising paramilitary threat.
"We are absolutely delighted to have stopped a vehicle today, arrested two men and recovered a firearm," he said.
"We are continuing to do everything we can to catch these people and put them before the courts."
It is understood a number of searches were carried out in houses across Belfast after the arrests were made.
PA