Justice Minister: We'll Sink Crime Inc

Oct 21 2007

Justice Minister Kenny Macaskill On How Elite Gangbusters Will Smash Money Laundering Tanning Salons And Taxi Firms

ORGANISED crime gangs who use tanning salons and taxi firms as a front to launder drugs cash will be targeted in a blitz planned by Kenny MacAskill.

In an exclusive article for the Sunday Mail, the Justice Secretary today reveals they will be prime targets of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce.

Tomorrow he chairs the first meeting of Scotland's top law enforcement agencies.

They include our chief prosecutor the Lord Advocate Elish Angiolini and police, customs and prisons chiefs.

The elite crimbusters will come up with a strategy to tackle organised crime.

The Sunday Mail's award-winning Crime Inc. expose revealed organised crime brought in £1billion a year.

And it is believed Scotland has at least 100 millionaire criminals.

And here, in an impassioned plea, MacAskill singles out the private hire trade and tanning salons for special attention.

THERE'S a strong chance people reading this paper today will have spent a bit of their weekend in the hands of organised crime.

They might have taken a taxi or popped into a tanning salon.

Sadly, some of those taxis and salons will be fronts for the web of serious and organised crime gangs that prey on our communities.

Nearly every week, the Sunday Mail has stories of how gangsters connected to Scotland's criminal networks are terrorising ordinary citizens and plaguing our communities with their drug dealing and other despicable crimes.

As Justice Secretary, I want to send a clear message to the underworld's Mr Bigs and their lieutenants that this government is determined to put them out of business and off our streets.

No longer will they be allowed to operate with impunity, and no longer can they profit on the backs of decent, hardworking Scots and their families.

Tomorrow as a clear sign of our commitment to tackle this menace, I will chair the first ever meeting of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce.

Scotland's Lord Advocate, along with police chiefs, the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency, the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the Security Industry Authority and the Scottish Prison Service will join me in Edinburgh.

By bringing together specialist crime-fighting expertise, skills and knowledge in one forum, we will provide the strategic direction, legislation, regulation and co-ordination that is needed to ensure there is no hiding place for organised criminals in Scotland.

Drugs are the menace of our society, but there is more to serious crime than drugs and our approach needs to change to deal with it.

Doors do still need to be kicked in - but our authorities need smart ways to combat money laundering and other financial crime.

Our enforcement authorities know criminal activity has no boundaries and that organised crime takes many forms.

The use of information technology is a growing business for organised gangs. Weare supporting the police and other agencies in employing more highly specialised staff who use often ingenious methods to combat crimes such as identity fraud, VAT carousel crime, copyright rip-offs and pornography.

Criminal gangs are always ready to diversify into other areas.

But they need working capital and we are determined to cut off that supply. So far more than £16million has been recovered through the Proceeds of Crime Act and we will continue to use confiscation powers to recover even more assets from the criminal fraternity.

We will hit the criminal where it hurts - in their pocket.

Organised crime helps destroy communities. Criminals live a high life while making everyday life a misery for those who are blighted by their activities.

Hard-working families with mortgages to pay and legitimate businesses struggling to make ends meet are undermined by criminals who prey on them.

We have to alleviate the suffering of those individuals, businesses and communities, and by disrupting criminal finances we can disrupt crime.

That's why money retrieved through the Proceeds of Crime Act needs to be reinvested in communities so that it does lasting good.

We also need to give young people positive things to do with their lives - in sport and in the arts for example.

I plan to make an announcement soon on crime proceeds that will pave the way for one of the most significant expansions of youth activity ever in this country.

These criminals are robbing Scotland blind - stealing our children's lives with the drugs they peddle on our streets.

Stealing our wealth through their scams and schemes - and stealing our jobs as their illegal fronts take business away from the honest firms.

These people owe their allegiance to the flag of greed - not the Saltire.

Its time we raised our standard against serious and organised crime.'

THE CRIMEBUSTERS

THE elite crimebusters who will attend tomorrow's summit in St Andrew's House, Edinburgh, include:

Elish Angiolini, the first female Lord Advocate, in charge of prosecuting crime in Scotland.

Bob Lauder, 56, Scotland and Northern Ireland director of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency.

Gordon Meldrum appointed deputy director general of the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency last June. He has trained with the FBI.

Allan Burnett representing the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland).

Mike Duffy, 36, director of prisons.

Brian Goode, regional director of HM Revenue & Customs for Scotland.

Andy Drain, deputy chief executive of the Security Industry Authority (SIA).

THE CRIMINALS

MILLIONS of pounds have been made and laundered by gangsters using private hire firms.

The firms are ideal because they can be presented as legitimate taxi businesses. The most notorious gangsters include:

Tam "The Licensee" McGraw, one of the first to realise the need to hide his cash. Everything he owned was in wife Margaret's name. He died in July this year after amassing £14million.

Jamie "The Iceman" Stevenson, worth over £8million. Jailed for almost 13 years in April over £1million money-laundering scheme.

Tony McGovern and his crime family gathered over £14million through Network Private Hire.

They were exposed by our award-winning Crime Inc series.