28 crime gangs disrupted by North’s assets body in 2005
31/01/2006 - 11:14:19The Assets Recovery Agency has disrupted the work of almost 30 criminal gangs in the North over the last year, according to British minister Shaun Woodward.
Speaking at a business conference in Belfast today, Mr Woodward said the agency had either broken up or disrupted 28 gangs during 2005.
He said it had frozen or confiscated £12m (€17.6m) worth of assets during the year.
Elsewhere, Mr Woodward said £7m (€10.2m) worth of counterfeit goods had also been seized by the PSNI during the past 12 months, while almost 40% of the North's leading organisations had been victims of economic crime in 2005, with the vast majority of offences committed by management or employees.
