Man killed in Belfast motorbike crash was part of violent drug-dealing crew with UVF ties
A man killed in a motorbike crash in east Belfast had UVF ties and recently served time in jail.
The crash that killed William ‘Buff’ Hunter, 37, happened at about 11.50pm on Sunday on the Castlereagh Road.
His was the only vehicle involved in the crash.
Confirming his identity yesterday, the PSNI said: “Officers alongside colleagues from other emergency services attended and Mr Hunter, was taken to hospital where he sadly died a short time later.”
He had been handed a 40-month sentence – half of which was to be served in jail – in September 2022 after being caught in a police operation targeting East Belfast UVF-linked drug dealing (a sentence which Court of Appeal judge Lord Justice Treacy later suggested may have been “too lenient”).
Text messages from among his drug-dealing crew were revealed in the case, including talk about violence towards debtors who could not pay.
By the time of that 2022 conviction, Hunter had already amassed a string of previous convictions including for drugs, firearms, and money laundering, with Judge Richard Greene KC describing Hunter as “a career criminal” whose latest offences were “merely the most recent in a long line of offending that shows no sign of ending”.
One of Hunter’s drugs co-conspirators, Glenn Rainey, was later also convicted of the murder of Ian Ogle, who had been stabbed and beaten to death by members of the East Belfast UVF in 2019.
In January 2024, Hunter was before the courts again, charged with being part of a duo who rode around Belfast and Newtownabbey on a moped, stealing £700-worth of meat from shops.
In that case, District Judge Anne Marshall observed that such products have often been stolen to sell for money to buy drugs, adding that the thieves “are not eating that amount of meat” themselves.
The address given to the courts indicates Hunter lived in the Tiger’s Bay area of north Belfast.
In addition to his fatal crash, there were two others over the weekend.
One was a two-vehicle crash in the Glarryford area of north Antrim at about 2pm on Sunday which claimed the life of a woman in her 80s, and the other was a collision that killed Orangeman and bandsman Peter Malcolmson, a pedestrian, on the Ballygowan Road on the edge of south-east Belfast at around 11pm on Saturday.
Writing on Facebook, Christine Hunter of Bangor said: “Absolutely devasting news. Heartbreakin’. We lost our amazing nephew/cousin, wee William (Buff) Hunter.
“You were one of the best and will be sorely missed by everyone.
“Thoughts and prayers to my brother/brother-in-law Buff and Tanya and the whole family circle.
“Safe in the arms of Jesus. Rest in peace you absolute legend.”
Meanwhile Jlo Hill wrote: “My heart is so sore. Another friend gone too soon.
“Was only talking to you at 8.20 last night then a missed call after that. I'm wishing I had got that last phone call cause now I’ll never know what it was about.
“I loved you so much you were always there for me. We both stuck by one another no matter what problems came at us.
“You were my best friend and I'll never ever forget you.
"My kids’ wee hearts are broke too; they all loved you so much – why, why, why? All them good crazy times I’ll never forget.”