Nearly 30 major crime gangs in Northern Ireland have been disrupted in the last 12 months, it was revealed today.
Well over 100 suspected gangsters were arrested and £16.5 million worth of drugs and counterfeit goods were seized, according to a new dossier.
Despite the successes trumpeted in the Organised Crime Task Force's annual report, Security Minister Shaun Woodward warned that the whole of society remained under threat from racketeers, smugglers and dealers.
He also urged paramilitary organisations heavily involved in running Northern Ireland's multi-million-pound underworld to halt all illegal operations.
With the IRA blamed for the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in Belfast, and loyalist paramilitaries steeped in extortion and security van raids, the minister hit out at terror bosses plundering the economy.
He said: "It has no place in our society. It impacts adversely on our economy and, as we know too well in Northern Ireland, severely hampers political progress.
"It is only when we are free from such constraints that we will be able to truly build a secure future based on normality, peace and prosperity."
Mr Woodward, who chairs the Taskforce comprising Government agencies, the police and civil services, customs, the Assets Recovery Agency and National Criminal Intelligence Service, insisted the offensive was paying off.
"The facts speak for themselves. Over the past year 28 top-level organised crime gangs have been disrupted or dismantled; drugs worth some £9.5 million and counterfeit goods worth £7 million have been seized by the PSNI," he said.
"We continue to drive down the amount of illegal fuel being smuggled into Northern Ireland and the Assets Recovery Agency is hitting the profits of organised criminals by taking back their cash."
Other achievements included 126 suspected criminals arrested; assets totalling £4m restrained by ARA, and a further £7.8m worth of assets restrained or confiscated by police and customs.
PA