Sir Patrick Cormack

The Commons Northern Ireland affairs committee has warned that the province is being used as a back door for smuggling migrants into Britain and the Irish Republic.

In a report on organised crime in Ulster, the MPs said that there was anecdotal evidence that paramilitaries were involved in human trafficking.

Chairman Sir Patrick Cormack said: "While we were told that there is no evidence of large-scale people smuggling operations in Northern Ireland, there is evidence that Northern Ireland is being used as a back door by those wishing to enter both Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

"Many attempting to do so are failed asylum seekers intending to reapply in a different jurisdiction, or leave and re-enter the original jurisdiction but under a different identity, and apply for asylum for a second time.

"The majority of these persons use Northern Ireland as a transit route in both directions between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland."

The committee said it had also been informed by Northern Ireland Office security minister Paul Goggins that there had been an increase in the number of foreign nationals working in prostitution in Belfast.

However the minister had not received evidence confirming that paramilitaries were involved in human trafficking and he was awaiting the results of 'Operation Pentameter', the UK-wide police operation looking at the trafficking of women for the sex trade.

The committee of MPs also said it had received extraordinary reports of alliances between republican and loyalist organisations involved in some criminal activities, often drug related.

Petrol fraud, cigarette smuggling, intellectual property crime such as CD and DVD piracy, extortion, drugs, armed robbery and cash-in-transit attacks, money laundering and illegal dumping were identified as major areas of criminal activity in Northern Ireland during their evidence sessions.

The committee stressed the need not just for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the law enforcement agencies to fight organised crime but for government, the community at large and politicians to join them.

However it warned that Sinn Fein's refusal to endorse the PSNI undermined that fight.

Sir Patrick said: "The efforts of the PSNI will be limited as long as Sinn Fein withholds its support for, and recognition of, the legitimacy of the PSNI."

The committee expressed concern at the failure of government to move quickly enough to regulate charities following claims that paramilitary groups were exploiting them to launder funds.

Its report also highlighted the involvement of professionals in organised crime, which was becoming more sophisticated in the province.

"It is incumbent on the professional bodies, such as the Law Society and the Institute of Chartered Accounts to satisfy themselves that their membership requirements are sufficiently rigorous and that observance of them is carefully monitored," the MPs said.