NCA impact in Scotland during quarters three and four

Child Sexual Abuse:

In Q4, NCA made 557 disseminations to Police Scotland, resulting in 77 arrests and 128 children being safeguarded.

The NCA International Liaison Officer (ILO) Network supported Police Scotland in locating and safeguarding a vulnerable missing child, who had left the UK. This followed allegations of sexual abuse involving family members. The missing child was located in Italy.

The NCA’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Education Team delivered training to professionals from Policing, local councils, education sectors and charities on ‘Understanding Online Child Sexual Abuse’ as well as delivering the ‘CEOP Education Ambassadors’ course.

Organised Immigration Crime:

Acting on a Trade and Co-operation Agreement (TaCA) Warrant, the NCA expedited the arrest of an Iraqi national in Scotland, who had connections to a suspect wanted by French authorities in connection with the transporting of illegal migrants via lorries. The NCA UK International Crime Bureau liaised directly with Police Scotland to arrest and extradite the suspect after engaging with French authorities.

Modern Slavery & Human Trafficking:

Following a number of unaccompanied migrant children being rehomed in Scotland, NCA provided tactical advice to Police Scotland regarding unaccompanied migrant children, including debriefing.         

Firearms:

NCA and OCP Scotland, in conjunction with Police Scotland Armed Support conducted a controlled delivery of a Glock 17 handgun and 100 rounds of ammunition to an address in Scotland, leading to the arrest of a suspect who was remanded in custody.

Drugs:

NCA offers support to the Police Scotland chaired law enforcement and health sector response to risks from the Benzodiazepine group of drugs. The project aims to deliver system wide changes to improve understanding, response and treatment across the UK.

On receipt of intelligence from international partners, NCA tasked an investigation to OCP Scotland which resulted in the execution of search warrants and the arrest of an individual on suspicion of possession and supply of Class A drugs. Further enquiries and examinations are being undertaken in relation to their wider criminal conduct

Fraud & Money Laundering:

NCA funding provided to Police Scotland was used to finance a fraud investigation into a criminal network based in Portugal. The group were recruiting Portuguese nationals to travel to Scotland to commit bank frauds using online accounts and cryptocurrency firms. Account Freezing Orders (AFO) for over £200,000 were granted. Enforcement action resulted in seven arrests, nine voluntary interviews, and three Cease and Desist notices being issued.

Cyber Crime:

The NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit (NCCU) supported the response to seventeen cyber-attacks which impacted on Scotland. Twelve were ransomware attacks, against a range of victims including members of the public, a Housing Association, and UK Government and Policing agencies. The UK-wide estimated protective impact of these disruptions is in excess of £570 million.

Under Operation AGADE, a major UK bank which was identified as having a large number of acconts holding funds believed to be derived from fraud against the public was required to surrender more than £50m in criminal funds to the NCA. Some of this funded the following Police Scotland Multi Agency Hub projects:

Academic research to inform Police Scotland’s future cybercrime and fraud strategy.

Stakeholder Engagement Plan, enabling threats being more effectively prioritised and responded to collaboratively.