The North's Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) has frozen more than £1.5 million of assets belonging to a murdered loyalist.
Mr Alan McQuillan, head of the ARA and a former assistant chief constable, was granted the power to take control of bank accounts and property belonging to Jim Johnston, who was shot dead in May this year outside his north Down home during the loyalist feud.
He was a key figure in the Red Hand Commando which is linked to the UVF, and a prominent figure in the illegal drugs trade.
The agency will now attempt to prove to the High Court in Belfast that the assets were derived from crime, in an effort to win permanent control of the accounts.
The Security Minister, Ms Jane Kennedy, told the House of Commons yesterday she believed more cases would emerge.
Speaking during Northern Ireland Questions, she told MPs: "I have every confidence that the Assets Recovery Agency is getting to grips with the problem in Northern Ireland.
"I'm pleased to be able to tell the House that, on Monday of this week, the agency was granted a freezing order for £1.5 million worth of assets allegedly derived from drug-dealing. I believe that there is much more to come."
She told the North Belfast MP, Mr Nigel Dodds of the DUP, that both the agency and the PSNI were adequately resourced, and that the situation was under constant review.
She commended the early successes of the agency, which was set up in February.
In its statement, the ARA did not identify Johnston or his property but it did make clear that a receiver had been appointed to control the estate pending the next step in the application for a recovery order to the High Court. Such an order would mean the forfeiting of the bank accounts and property.
It is the second such order granted in six months and brings the total frozen to some £1.6 million.
Mr McQuillan heads a team of 15 detectives and has endured some criticism for not achieving earlier results.