Tackling organised crime

The criminal gangs who operate in Northern Ireland are involved in a wide range of crime areas to maximise their own gain.

What is organised crime?

Organised crime activities include:

internet crime
fraud
money laundering
excise and tax fraud (including oils fraud)
intellectual property crime
armed robbery and cash in transit attacks
tiger kidnaps
drugs
counterfeit currency
immigration crime including human trafficking

Whilst it is difficult to quantify the money being made successes against the crime gangs show it to be a multi-million pound industry. For instance, in 2010/11 law enforcement agencies seized overy £9 million of illegal drugs. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have dismantled 15 large scale laundering plants capable of producing over 90 million litres of illicit fuel. Over the same period 23 victims of human trafficking have been rescued and over £4.4 million of assets have been recovered from organised criminals.

Tackling the problem

The Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF), chaired by the Justice Minister, provides a multi-agency partnership approach to tackling organised crime in Northern Ireland. It is made up of government, law enforcement agencies, the business community and voluntary groups.

The OCTF does not assume an operational responsibility, which remains the focus of the law enforcement agencies operating in Northern Ireland. However, it is supported by a number of sub-groups each of which deal with specific operational and policy issues. The OCTF undertakes regular threat assessments of emerging trends and looks at how these may be mitigated.

What you can do

The fight against organised criminals can only be completely effective if it has the assistance of the whole community in Northern Ireland. You can help by refusing to tolerate criminal activities such as drug dealing, extortion, and buying counterfeit goods or dodgy diesel.

Put a stop to it by calling Customs Confidential or Crimestoppers now.

HMRC Confidential: 0800 59 5000
Crimestoppers: 0800 555 111

Further information on the work of the OCTF is available on its website.

Organised Crime Task Force website

Paramilitary Involvement

Despite the inactivity of many paramilitary groups in recent years, the move away from organised crime, while marked, has not been total. This involvement is either to fund terrorist activity or for personal gain.

Effects of Global Crime

Northern Ireland has also felt the effects of globally inspired crime including:

cannabis factories
human trafficking for sexual and labour exploitation
internet based crime and financial fraud which can be organised by criminals in any part of the world with access to a PC