NI is ‘Soft underbelly’for criminals- Paisley

Ian Paisley MP told Parliament last week that Northern Ireland has become the ‘soft underbelly of the criminal world’.

By The Newsroom

Published 26th Oct 2014, 09:48 BST

He said PSNI figures suggest that up to 140 gangs are currently operating in Northern Ireland.

Mr Paisley said: “While the PSNI continue to be left to try and combat this cross-border criminality single-handedly, drugs are continuing to travel in and out of Northern Ireland, trafficking continues to rise and smuggling remains at large.

“I worry that the refusal by the SDLP to agree to the National Crime Agency CA operating in Northern Ireland is merely down to an unwillingness to get over the issue of the word ‘national’. It appears to be as petty as that, but I hope that is not the case. But no serious answer has yet been given to the question: why are we not implementing the NCA in Northern Ireland? It is wrong.”