London, Jul 13 (IANS): The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed that organised criminal gangs from Liverpool have risen to the top of the country's underworld and dominate the firearms and drugs-trade outside London.

On Sunday citing new intelligence, senior officers at the NCA said that analysis shows Liverpool, the port city in northwestern England, has become the pre-eminent location for top-tier gangs sourcing high-volume importations of drugs and automatic weapons, reports Xinhua news agency.

The Observer newspaper reported on Sunday that more than 70 per cent of all links to weapons examined led back to Liverpool and the north-west of England.

Senior NCA firearms officers said the city's geography, its demographics, history of serious organised crime, and the willingness of gang members to embrace the latest criminal innovations were behind its rise.

"You look at the consistent demographic of unemployment and deprived areas and how serious organised crime has evolved.

"If you did an assessment on how society has evolved with serious organised crime, Liverpool's gangs have probably been at the forefront," said Matt Perfect, the firearms threat lead for the NCA.