'International alliance is the only way to smash organised crime gangs'

A NEW international alliance led by the UK is the only way to smash organised crime gangs, a think tank has claimed.

- By Paul Jeeves Crime Editor

With record high small boat crossings, county lines gangs operating nationwide and cyber attacks part of life, the Tony Blair Institute said the Government must lead an International Serious and Organised Crime Alliance to catch criminals and eliminate their operations.

The system would be similar to the Five Eyes intelligence sharing operation between the UK and US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.

Global Serious Organised Crime gangs made £2.2trillion in 2023 - 3% of the world’s GDP - with drug trafficking and human exploitation among the most lucrative markets.

A paper by the TBI noted the current approaches failed to take account for the changing nature of organised crime and says a new tech-focused alliance was needed to concentrate on eliminating criminal operations.