Corrupt west African nations 'running global crime'

He gave a scathing assessment of the state of law enforcement in the Western world, speaking of police forces more interested in ''glory grabbing'' and competing with other agencies for funding than in understanding and tackling organised crime. ''The only winners in that type of environment is the criminals. Law enforcement has had to take a short-term focus, because that is what their political masters take.

''Most damning of all, however, is that governments have seen dealing with serious organised crime as the responsibility of law enforcement alone.''

In a speech before Mr Hughes, the Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police, Simon Overland, agreed that governments needed to take up the baton instead of expecting police to fight an ''unwinnable war''.

''I get nervous when, from a public policy point of view, we start talking about wars on organised crime, because [it's] a war that you can never win and never end.