Form ‘Five Eyes’ for Organised Crime, says Tony Blair Institute

• New paper highlights changing nature of serious organised crime from old-school notions of the mob to multinational, high-growth enterprises. 
• ‘A New International Approach to Beating Serious and Organised Crime', published today by the Tony Blair Institute, recommends a new Five Eyes-style Serious Organised Crime Alliance to take out organised crime gangs.
• Alliance would launch tech offensive focussed on eliminating full criminal operations, not just playing ‘whack-a-mole' with individual criminals.
• Recommendations for the Alliance include cross-border sanctions on banks that recklessly enable crime and cutting off supply lines through sting operations.
• In foreword, ex-INTERPOL Executive Director of Police Services Sir Stephen Kavanagh says: “the criminal threats have moved on, and we haven't.”

The Tony Blair Institute have called for a new Five Eyes-style alliance to beat criminal enterprises with a tech-powered offensive.

In the paper ‘A New International Approach to Beating Serious and Organised Crime', TBI argues that serious organised crime - including drug and people trafficking, illegal arms sales, cyberattacks and fraud - has become a strategic threat to national resilience and international stability.  

With small boat crossings at a high, county lines gangs operating nationwide, and cyberattacks now a part of life, the authors argue that the UK government must lead an International Serious and Organised Crime Alliance to not just catch the criminals, but eliminate their operations. 

Illicit flows reached $3.1 trillion in 2023 - 3% of global GDP - with drug trafficking and human exploitation among the most lucrative markets.  

According to TBI, current approaches fail to account for the changing nature of organised crime. No longer loyalty-bound, hierarchical mobs, modern organised crime gangs are now decentralised, highly adaptable, and ruthlessly entrepreneurial, mirroring the structure and ambition of high-growth companies. Groups operate fluidly across borders, exploiting regulatory grey zones, and using advanced technologies to outpace law enforcement.  

Despite this evolution, the authors argue that global responses remain outdated and fragmented. Enforcement efforts are often reactive, jurisdiction-bound, and too reliant on lengthy prosecutions. Convictions are rare and slow, while organised crime adapts and regenerates, resulting in a ‘whack-a-mole' approach to policing.  

The report highlights the need for a shift: treating serious organised crime not just as a criminal justice issue, but as an economic system that can be disrupted by making it harder, riskier, and less profitable to operate.  

Sir Stephen Kavanagh, former Executive Director of Police Services at INTERPOL and author of the paper's foreword, said:

“My time at INTERPOL fundamentally changed not just the way I see crime but the way I see the business models behind that crime. Whether it was the fallout of the Afghan government's collapse on drug flows and human trafficking, or the levels of sophistication, reach and ruthlessness of West African organised crime groups, the conclusion was the same: the criminal threats have moved on, and we haven't. 

“It is time for a new mindset: one that treats data and computing power as strategic assets, accepts disruption as vital tools, and one that is willing to experiment with new institutional models that break with convention.”

To tackle this issue, TBI proposes the creation of a new International Serious and Organised Crime Alliance, with the UK leading its formation.  

Inspired by the success of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership, the Alliance would be formed around a small group of trusted states, starting with Britain's closest allies. The Alliance would be capable of acting quickly, sharing intelligence freely, combining technology resources, and delivering coordinated disruption across jurisdictions.  

Unlike existing structures such as INTERPOL, the Alliance would not focus on prosecuting individuals, but dismantling entire criminal business models by targeting enablers, intermediaries, and logistical infrastructure.  

Alexander Iosad, Director of Government Innovation Policy at TBI, said: 

“Organised crime has evolved. We are no longer facing mob bosses and gangsters, but agile, global businesses built for speed, scale and profit. The UK cannot afford to let them enrich themselves at the expense of our citizens' wallets and the safety of our streets. 

“To stop this, you don't go after low-level operatives while the rest of the organisation covers up and adapts. You take out its entire ability to operate; you sanction the leaders and enablers, you remove its capital, institutions, methods, technology and supply lines they operate on.   

“Criminals don't respect borders so we must work across them to win. An Alliance of countries, united by shared values and desire to stop these modern mafias, can create international black-out zones, ceasing their operations and their impact on our communities entirely.”  

The proposed Alliance would feature a ‘tiered' structure based on existing trust, operational capability and strategic relevance, with the first tier including the Five Eyes nations along with France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway.

Once formed, the Alliance would launch a new tech-powered offensive, hacking and infiltrating communications channels used by organised crime gangs and flooding their services with fake targets, such as AI models that pretend to be fraud victims, or incorrect information. Through pooling data and computing power, the Alliance could also deploy AI to map networks, track illicit finance, and intervene quickly, enhancing disruption without needing to share sensitive personal data across jurisdictions.

Alongside this offensive, TBI recommends that the Alliance implement joint sanctions, expanding and internationalising those announced by the government earlier this summer. These sanctions would freeze assets and block access to financial systems, education, and residency for criminals and their dependents. Service providers who enable organised crime, such as banks and law firms, would also face fines and suspensions.  

Collectively, these sanctions would increase the costs of operations, while wiping out several of the structures they rely on, limiting profitability and business viability.   

The report also proposes that the Alliance's collective borders be used to cut off criminal supply lines. Through coordinated enforcement across port and trade routes and tactics like honey-trap stings and delivery interceptions, Alliance countries could together disrupt operations and erode trust in criminal gangs. 

By raising costs, increasing risk, and injecting instability into criminal networks, the Alliance would make it near-impossible for organised crime gangs to operate at scale.