GLOBAL mafias are using corrupt nations in west Africa to run their syndicates and the area is now a ''hole in the wall'' in the international fight against organised crime, says the former head of Britain's top police unit.
William Hughes, the former director-general of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, made the comment in an address to an organised crime conference in Melbourne yesterday, in which he called for more international co-operation in tackling transnational crime.
''Organised crime is already starting to be - and will in future become - the most serious issue for democracies and governments, and their ability to control their states,'' he said.
Advertisement: Story continues below
Instead of relying on domestic law enforcement to tackle a global problem, countries needed to include organised crime in their national security strategies.
In 2008 the then prime minister, Kevin Rudd, released a national security strategy and included organised crime as one of its concerns.
