21 May 2004
Anti-mafia laws used in the US are to be copied in Northern Ireland to tackle extortion rackets in public sector building projects, the government has announced.
The Independent Private Sector Inspector General Programme in the US has cut gangsters' revenues by providing more transparency in financial record-keeping at major construction projects – making it clearer when protection money is paid. If successful, the proposed scheme in Northern Ireland could be extended to all major construction projects.
The proposal is a central element of the 2004/05 strategy launched by the Organised Crime Task Force, whose annual impact assessment underlines the threat posed by criminal gangs. Most of this is linked to paramilitary organisations formed during the Troubles, including Loyalist groups and the Provisional IRA.
Of the 230 organised criminal gangs identified by the task force, 85 are 'top-level' groups operating internationally. Some 60 gangs have been disrupted in the past year through arrests and seizures.
The most common criminal activities are smuggling tobacco, petrol or alcohol, supplying drugs and counterfeiting goods and currency. Fake euro notes produced in Northern Ireland have been recovered in continental Europe.
The task force says organised criminal gangs orchestrated much of the annual £75m of social security fraud in Northern Ireland and are involved in the developing market of illegal waste-dumping. They have also blackmailed many traders, who, the task force warns, also face prosecution if they hide payments using false documents.
Cannabis is the most common illegal drug supplied in Northern Ireland, with evidence of partnerships between local gangs and suppliers from South Africa. Counterfeit videos, DVDs, CDs, clothes and drinks are the most commonly seized goods, but the most dangerous are fake car parts, such as brake pads made of dried grass.
PFmay2004
