‘Polycriminal age’ harming lives of millions, says

Stephen Kavanagh urges law enforcement agencies to work with academia and tech firms to tackle ‘new era of crime’

The world is entering a “polycriminal age” where cross-continental gangs use fraud, synthetic drugs, AI and child sexual abuse to generate profits bigger than the gross domestic products of nation states, a senior figure in Interpol has claimed.

Stephen Kavanagh, an executive director of the international agency, said multibillion-pound syndicates were destabilising countries, driving migration and destroying ecosystems, while international police forces struggled to cope.