A new report has revealed that more than 230 criminal gangs are involved in organised crime in Northern Ireland.
Their illegal operations are estimated to be worth £1 billion per annum.
The study was drawn up by the Organised Crime Task Force, which was appointed by the British government.
It says loyalist and republican paramilitaries are heavily involved in sophisticated illegal operations - including drug smuggling, counterfeiting, and extortion - stretching from North America to the Far East.
