The number of offenders linked to organised crime in the UK has nearly DOUBLED in just one year to 350,000 – as children as young as 11 are being exploited by gangs, experts warn
- There are now 4,772 known organised crime groups which operate in the UK
- It’s likely drugs are linked to ‘substantial proportion’ of cases of serious violence
- A third of victims in homicide cases are either known drugs users or suppliers
The number of offenders linked to serious and organised crime in the UK has almost doubled in the past year to at least 350,000.
The National Crime Agency said there are now 4,772 known organised crime groups operating, with a quarter involved in violence.
An annual assessment published today found children as young as 11 have been exploited by gangs involved in drugs and acquisitive crime.
The National Crime Agency said there are now 4,772 known organised crime groups operating, with a quarter involved in violence (file image)
It said it is likely drugs are linked to a ‘substantial proportion’ of cases of serious violence, with a third of victims and two-thirds of suspects in homicide cases either known drugs users or suppliers.
The NCA said a minimum of 350,000 individuals are involved in serious and organised crime in the UK – up from 180,000 last year – including at least 300,000 with a sexual interest in children.
In a foreword to the National Strategic Assessment, NCA director Lynne Owens said: ‘These criminals are diversifying into multiple crime types, increasing their reliance on the services of corrupt insiders and continuing to use the UK’s financial systems to mask illicit finance and launder profits.
The NCA said a minimum of 350,000 individuals are involved in serious and organised crime in the UK – up from 180,000 last year
‘At the same time, it has never been clearer that serious and organised crime is an international threat that disregards boundaries and borders.’
She added: ‘Serious and organised crime continues to kill more people than any other national security threat, and has a corrosive impact on the UK and its citizens.’
The NCA said all of its investigations now encounter some kind of encryption as criminals use technology to try to avoid detection.
Last year saw the largest ever individual seizure of firearms at the UK border, hidden in a car travelling through Dover, and the largest ever seizure of heroin at the UK border, from a sea container at Felixstowe, the agency said.