SERIOUS OGANISED
CRIME AGENCY News Release issued by The Government News Network on
6 June 2008
Unrestricted UK
Threat Assessment Published
The Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) has today published an
unrestricted version of the UK Threat Assessment of Serious
Organised Crime 2008/9. The document describes and assesses the
threats posed to the UK by serious organised criminals. The
assessment is drawn from a fuller, restricted version which is
produced annually for law enforcement and wider government use.
SOCA Director General Bill Hughes said: "The UK Threat
Assessment describes the complex picture of criminal activity that
harms the UK and guides the law enforcement response to those threats."
Key findings from the unrestricted UK Threat Assessment are:
Criminal Business Structures - many of those involved in serious
organised criminal activity in, and directly affecting, the UK are
British nationals. Most serious organised criminals are involved
in more than one area of criminal activity directly or indirectly
concerned with making money. Most activities require some measure
of criminal collaboration and infrastructure, and this lies behind
the formation of organised crime groups and networks.
Firearms - the vast majority of recorded firearms offences in
England and Wales are linked to street-gangs. Since 2006 seizures
of live firing weapons being brought into the UK have been in
larger quantities, in batches of up to 30. Previously there were
relatively small numbers seized, often less than five at a time.
There has been an increased trend of Baikal gas pistols converted
to fire 9mm ammunition entering the UK from Lithuania.
Cocaine - most cocaine destined for Europe is concealed in large
vessels crossing the Atlantic. Possibly in response to successful
law enforcement action against these transatlantic shipments there
is increasing evidence of shipments by air to West Africa from
where the cocaine is transported to Europe.
There is evidence of a two-tier market for cocaine in the UK both
at wholesale and street level. Dealers are selling cheaper, more
heavily adulterated cocaine to some customers while selling higher
purity cocaine to more affluent buyers.
Heroin - At least 90% of the UK's heroin supply is
manufactured from opiates originating in Afghanistan. Poppy
cultivation in Afghanistan continues to rise. There are
indications that some opiates are being stockpiled, although it is
not known whether this is to regulate the price worldwide or
because of over-production.
Organised Immigration Crime - the scale of people smuggling far
exceeds that of human trafficking. Eastern European traffickers,
who trade mainly in Eastern European victims, routinely purchase
victims from criminal associates who have trafficked them from
source countries, either directly or through agents. The groups
are relatively small in size and unsophisticated and rarely engage
in end-to-end trafficking, unlike some South East Asian groups who
may control the movement of their victims at all stages.
Many victims of trafficking work in the sex industry (mainly
'off-street') across the UK and not just in metropolitan
areas. Based on those identified and recovered, most come from
Eastern Europe, the Balkans, China, South East Asia and Africa and
this largely reflects the nationality of traffickers involved.
Non Fiscal Fraud - fraud against large companies may appear to be
a 'victimless crime', in practice, everyone is affected,
since the income lost to fraud and the costs of measures to combat
it are reflected in higher prices. Serious organised criminals are
actively involved in many forms of fraud, especially those calling
for an effective criminal infrastructure, such as payment card
crime, 'boiler room' fraud (telesales centres that
persuade investors into purchasing worthless or over-priced stock
in companies with little or no value) and mortgage fraud. Frauds
that offer high profits at lower risk than other forms of
criminality are obviously attractive. Some of the profits made
from these frauds are used to fund other serious criminal activity.
SOCA activity in response to these threats includes:
Firearms - in the past year SOCA has been involved in operations
which have, worldwide, led to the seizure of over 400 illicit
firearms and over 23,000 rounds of ammunition. Last week, two
Lithuanian men were sentenced to six years and eight months each
as part of a joint investigation by SOCA and the Metropolitan
Police, which saw 13 firearms and over 900 rounds of ammunition
seized in London.
Class A drugs - SOCA, with national and international partners,
seized almost 90 tonnes of class A drugs and over 60 tonnes of
precursor chemicals in 2007/08. Recent activity in West Africa by
the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics) include a
prosecution mounted by Liberia and operations with support from
Benin and Cote D'Ivoire. 2007 saw an increase in the number
of SOCA staff posted to Afghanistan coupled with tactical
successes in the country that included the seizure of 2,900kg of
opium and opiates, 6,500kg and 1,300 litres of pre-cursor
chemicals and 1,100kg of heroin.
Organised Immigration Crime - successful action at home and
abroad in Operation HORNBLOWER against a gang trafficking and
exploiting illegal immigrants from Afghanistan and Pakistan into
the UK and in Operation GIRDER against an Organised Crime Group
involved in the facilitated immigration of children and adults
from Romania into the UK.
Fraud - SOCA activity against fraud in the last year has included
the seizure of thousands of fake financial instruments destined
for the UK and with a potential value of nearly £8 million in a
month long operation in Nigeria as part of an international
initiative against mass marketing fraud. Operation AJOWAN led to
the arrest, prosecution and conviction of UK-based criminals who
traded stolen bank, credit card and identity information on the internet.
While produced by SOCA, the UK Threat Assessment is very much a
collaborative effort. It is based on information and intelligence
drawn from a wide range of sources, both in the UK and abroad.
Improving overall awareness of serious organised crime is
critical to combating the various threats and mitigating the harm
they cause. SOCA makes information available to public and private
sector organisations in order to develop 'target
hardening' measures, and the public also needs this
information in order to protect themselves against becoming
victims of serious organised crime.
Notes to Editors
1. The unrestricted UK Threat Assessment is available at http://www.soca.gov.uk
2. The Serious Organised Crime Agency is an intelligence-led
agency formed in April 2006 to tackle Class A drugs and organised
immigration crime as top priorities. Other priorities are fraud
against individuals and the private sector, hi tech crime,
counterfeiting, the use of firearms, serious robbery and recovery
of the proceeds of crime. SOCA is an Executive Non-Departmental
Public Body sponsored by, but operationally independent from, the
Home Office. On 1 April 2008 the Assets Recovery Agency merged
with SOCA.