PSNI: Up to 180 crime gangs in North

There are up to 180 crime gangs in the North engaged in lucrative activities such as counterfeiting and fuel smuggling, police said today.

A significant minority have or had ties with paramilitaries, Ch Supt Roy McComb added.

They deal in whatever commodity they can make money from and have ties with the UK and Ireland, Stormont's Justice Committee heard.

Mr McComb and other experts in organised crime gave evidence to the committee today.

"The number of crime gangs that we have identified moves around, it is a reasonably fluid amount, somewhere between 160 and 180 crime gangs," he said.

"That is 160 crime gangs in Northern Ireland, the majority did not do single crime types, the majority do multiple crime types. Crime gangs are in the business of making money. Anywhere they can make money they will move towards."

The gangs cooperate for commercial gain, they never work in isolation and are always connected to somewhere else, the committee heard.

Mr McComb said a "healthy minority" of the crime gangs had paramilitary links.

SDLP North Belfast MLA Alban Maginness expressed concern.

"Paramilitary-related gangs are making money for themselves and their capacity to make money gives them the capacity to buy arms, munitions and explosives that create terror in this community. It disturbs me that there is this significant minority within the gangs you are talking about," he said.

Mr McComb said the profit margin in counterfeiting can be even greater than for dealing drugs. Arsenic and lead are among poisons used in cigarettes. Smuggling fuel is worth £200m (€230.1m) a year for fraudsters.

Mr McComb added: "The idea in Northern Ireland that it is a victimless crime is still here, there is huge amount of profit for people buying those for tiny amounts. We can see huge amounts of money being made in criminal activities."

He said cooperation between the PSNI and Gardaí had never been better during his 20 years in policing.

The number of arrests by the PSNI for drugs has increased substantially from 2003 with the number per quarter rising from 350 to 590.

Sinn Féin North Belfast MLA Caral Ni Chuilin said there appeared to be little impact on the dealers on the street.

"The people's standards of living seem to improve, the crowds outside their door seem to become more frequent, the perception is that people are passing information on (to police) and it is not going anywhere," she said.

"There is money being made illegally and there is misery being spread."