HOME SECRETARY Priti Patel has appointed Graeme Biggar CBE as director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA). Biggar has led the NCA on an interim basis since October 2021, during which time the organisation has reported record disruptions against key threats and targeted an increasing proportion of those criminals causing the most harm.

Appointed on a five-year term following an open recruitment process, Biggar will now lead the NCA’s drive to advance the UK’s fight against serious and organised crime: a national security threat that includes people smuggling, cyber crime, illicit finance and drugs and firearms trafficking.

The director general takes charge of the NCA’s 6,000 officers based in the UK and overseas and is responsible for setting its operational priorities, ensuring that the organisation is operating effectively and shaping the entire UK law enforcement response to serious and organised crime.

In 2021-2022 alone, NCA activity has delivered prison sentences for criminals totalling more than 2,379 years and presided over the freezing or seizure of £358 million in criminal assets/ The NCA’s efforts have resulted in the arrest of 244 people smuggling offenders outside of the UK and led to the seizure of 241 tonnes of Class A drugs. Further, the organisation has spearheaded the implementation of a cross-law enforcement ransomware threat group, thereby protecting the UK’s economy from losses of at least £600 million.

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