Murder victim Liam Christie shot dead for missing drug money

Fearing for his life, the 44-year-old fled the Ballycraig estate in Antrim earlier this year, only to make the fatal mistake of returning in the past few weeks.

He was shot dead at a friend’s house on Craighill – a street he had previously lived on for almost a decade – last Thursday morning.

One theory police are exploring is that Christie was intentionally killed with a gun he stole for the LVF during a violent burglary at the home of the gun’s legal owner.

The father-of-three specialized in these kinds of robberies, working hand-in-hand with Antrim-based terror gang members such as Scott ‘Q-Ball’ Shuker, who died of an overdose in 2013.

Despite being born and raised Catholic in the republican Ardoyne area of ​​Belfast, Christie lived in the fiercely loyalist Ballycraig area for more than 10 years.

This was due to his friendship with convicted drug lord Lawrence “Duffer” Kincaid and his half-brother Lawrence “Larry” Kincaid, who was serving time in prison for money laundering.

The siblings are key figures in a violent crime gang in Antrim with strong links to the LVF, which uses the remains of crime to carry out its dirty work.

Its members included Liam Christie, who committed violent house robberies and drug dealing for Duffer Kincaid.

This was despite the fact that he had previously worked alongside the INLA and Continuity IRA members before switching sides and approaching the loyalists.

Sources say that after Christie was accused of stealing cash and cocaine from the Antrim LVF gang earlier this year, he fled to a private hideout near his native Ardoyne. But the dissident Republicans, who hate him passionately, found out that he stayed in that house.

Fearing that he might be killed by the New IRA or the INLA, Christie fled back to Ballycraig – the scene of his murder.

“Liam was accused of stealing money from Duffer Kincaid’s gang. He also dealt drugs in Ballycraigy for himself without giving the LVF a cut,” a crime source told Sunday Life.

“That’s why they killed him. He knew he was being threatened, but he ignored the warnings.”

The insider explained how Christie had “burned bridges with everyone”, meaning he had no choice but to return to Ballycraig, despite the risk to his life.

“Liam couldn’t go back to Ardoyne because dissidents wanted him shot dead for selling drugs to the LVF there years ago,” added our source.

“So he ended up going back to Ballycraigy to stay with his girlfriend even though he was in danger.

“The guy probably had a death wish. It’s dangerous enough for a Catholic to live in such a fiercely loyal zone — especially when the LVF accused him of stealing money and drugs.”

Police say Christie was shot four times at close range in the early morning hours. He is believed to have been asleep when the gunman entered the area.

The LVF gang they are accused of carrying out carried out two previous murders in County Antrim. Notorious criminal Martin Morgan (41) was shot to death in the town in 2008 just weeks after being released from prison.

The following year, businessman Geoff Kerr (60) was shot dead during a robbery at his home in Templepatrick. His killers targeted the property, knowing that the property housed legal weapons.

It was after these murders that Liam Christie was recruited into the LVF. He moved to Ballycraigy in 2011 after falling out with his uncle Harry Hales, a notorious Belfast criminal who once had £200,000 of property seized by a government agency accused of drug dealing and robbery.

Hales, who sold drugs for Duffer Kincaid and introduced Christie to the head of the LVF, survived being shot several times by dissident republicans outside his home in north Belfast in 2012.

His nephew was wrongly accused because he was due to give evidence in court against Hales, who was accused of seriously assaulting him – a case that ultimately failed.

This false allegation prompted Christie to contact Sunday Life to plead his innocence and deny involvement in the attempted murder. He told the newspaper: “I can categorically say that I had nothing to do with it [Hayles] shooting. I sat in the detention center, and the cops never asked me about the shooting itself – they only asked me where I was in the morning and who my friends were.”

Before falling out with Hales and moving to Antrim town, Christie was part of a violent dissident crime gang. In 2013 several of its members were jailed for 10 months for conspiring to rob a Co Down businessman.

In the cage with Christie was former IPLO gunman Michael McHugh, who served time in the 1990s for seriously wounding Shankill butcher Eddie McIlwaine in a firearms attack.

Convicted with them was William ‘Shirley’ Barker, who was later convicted of his involvement in the Continuity IRA blackmail attempt.

Another of Christie’s former associates is west Belfast criminal Edward “Squigg” McKay. The 57-year-old, who is linked to the INLA, has a lengthy criminal record for offenses including burglary and possession of a gun and ammunition.

In 2013, Christie was jailed for six months for trying to smuggle cannabis into Magilligan Prison while visiting a friend.

Appealing for information about his “brutal” murder, Detective Chief Inspector Rachel Wilson said: “Liam’s three sons and his partner are trying to come to terms with the loss of Liam in such brutal circumstances.”

Christie’s neighbors reported hearing loud bangs early Thursday morning, but believed the noise was fireworks, not gunshots.

A 31-year-old man arrested in connection with the murder has been released pending further investigation.