Drug Trafficking and Organised Crime in the United Kingdom - Dissertation Example

Various studies revealed that nearly two-thirds of the organized crime groups primarily deal in drugs, though there are instances where some of these gang syndicates have expanded into other illicit and financially lucrative activities like human trafficking. The UK drug networking is not confined to the major city centers but has now expanded to spread its tentacles into small towns, which, researchers show is directly proportional to the increase in serious violence. Indeed, the basic feature of this drug-based organized criminal syndicate is not simply the nature of its illegality but the perpetual willingness to use violent means to protect and earn more profits.

This article will study to find how the government and law enforcement agencies view and work to counter this extensive network of criminality that reaches into every community. Much of the criminology studies and criminal laws tend to focus on the criminal activities perpetuated by individuals because generally individual criminals are apprehended and sent for prosecution, even though they may be a part of a larger criminal gang. However, in recent years we find that there is a growing interest amongst experts in studying the structure of various criminal organizations that consist of a group of individuals who coming together to commit financially lucrative crimes.

UNDFOC which is a major organization fighting against this rising menace claims on its website that “Transnational organized crime is considered as one of the major threats to human security, impeding the social, economic, political and cultural development of societies worldwide. It is a multi-faceted phenomenon and has manifested itself in different activities, among others, drug trafficking, trafficking of human beings; trafficking in firearms; smuggling of migrants; money laundering; etc.

In particular, drug trafficking is one of the main activities of organized crime groups, generating enormous profits. UNODC works closely with Governments, international organizations, and civil society to strengthen cooperation to counter the pervasive influence of organized crime and drug trafficking”(UNODC and organized crime, 2011). This type of organized crime has spread very fast in almost all spheres of criminal activities, especially in the areas, which are highly profitable like human trafficking for sexual exploitation, various forms of cyber crimes, and drug trafficking, amongst many others (Fiorentini, & Peltzman, 1995).

Organized crime comprises “organized violence; heroin and another drug trafficking; organized immigration crime; non-fiscal and fiscal fraud; firearms offenses; road freight crime; theft of vehicles for profit or to facilitate other crime; robbery of cash and valuables in transit; and intellectual property crime” (Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary –getting organized, 2009, 6). Perpetrators of organized criminal activities always function with the primary motive of procuring huge profits.