Search and selection company Veredus Executive Resourcing has been appointed by the Home Office to find the head of its new organised crime agency, the so-called ‘British FBI’.

The elite team, known as the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), combines highly-skilled personnel from the National Crime Squad, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, Customs & Excise, and finance and technology.

Veredus’s appointment shows how the recruitment industry is helping to bring transparency to top public appointments.

But the job is going to be tough. SOCA’s remit will be to take on criminal overlords, overseeing international drug-trafficking and people-smuggling rings.

It is hoped that SOCA will work in tandem with the police and the immigration service to root out the criminal gangs.

A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “[Because SOCA] covers drug-trafficking and people-smuggling, fraud and money-laundering, we are looking for someone who is used to tackling huge crime issues. They will also have to be used to dealing with crime barons.”

According to Home Office figures, organised crime costs the UK economy £40bn a year.

Europol, the organisation which co-ordinates cross-border policing and criminal investigation in Europe, estimates that people-smugglers are responsible for 70% of illegal immigrants entering the EU.

Mark Turner, director of Veredus, said: “We are thrilled that we have been asked to undertake the recruitment of the chair and director general of SOCA.

“We are in discussion with the Home Office and the task force about the brief for this, and we will be conducting an extensive search in due course.”