'We Must Ensure Crime Does Not Pay' - Justice Minister

We need to ensure that serious organised crime does not pay, the Justice Minister Naomi Long has said during her presentation at the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre.

Welcoming the publication of the Annual Report of the Organised Crime Task Force (OCTF) the Justice Minister praised the force for delivering a series of successful operations, including significant seizures of drugs, cigarettes and counterfeit goods.

Speaking during a visit to the PSNI Cyber Crime Centre in Belfast to mark publication of the 2020/21 OCTF Annual Report, Naomi Long said: "The increasing reports of cybercrime are of particular concern to me.

"I very much welcome the opportunity to see the range of ongoing work to tackle the threats posed by cyber criminals including ransomware attacks, hacking, phishing and fraud. Criminals are adept at using the online world to conduct their activities and it is important that we are able respond to this threat. This is a key priority for the OCTF."

During 2020/21 operations by OCTF partners resulted in a wide range of successful disruptions, including over 8,000 drugs seizures by PSNI as well as seizures by Border Force of over 400kg of drugs including almost 26kg of Class A drugs, over 1.6 million cigarettes and 2,890 kg tobacco, 265,000 illicit prescription items and over 20,000 items of counterfeit goods. 150 potential victims of modern slavery were also identified and provided with support.

Praising partner agencies for their relentless approach to assessing threat levels, disrupting organised crime groups and bringing criminals to justice, Naomi Long said: "Responding to serious organised crime is difficult and challenging work, and I am impressed and encouraged by the dedication, commitment and resolve of all those involved at both strategic and operational levels.

"The combined efforts of law enforcement partners continues to play a significant role in delivering the collective aim of ensuring we can all live in safer communities, where we respect the law and each other.

"Collectively, we need to ensure that serious organised crime does not pay. A key priority for me as Justice Minister has been the commencement of the Northern Ireland provisions of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. I am pleased that these additional provisions are now in place, bringing this jurisdiction into line with arrangements across the UK. Law enforcement agencies can now avail of a range of new asset recovery powers to disrupt the activity of organised crime groups and strip away the ill-gotten gains of the individuals connected to them. I would urge the public, and anyone who has concerns, to note the case studies in this report and to contact the police or any of the helplines provided, if they suspect that someone is a victim of organised crime or they have any information to help bring these criminals to justice.

"Organised criminality takes many forms and in response my department leads on both the Organised Crime Strategy and the Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking Strategy. I look forward to continued co-operation with OCTF partners to deliver the strategic actions under the complementary aims of each strategy."