More than 920 people have been arrested in a major operation targeting criminal activity linked to high street businesses across the UK.
Thousands of premises - including convenience stores, vape shops and barbershops - were raided last month in the second iteration of Operation Machinize, a national initiative led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) to combat the criminal exploitation of high street businesses.
The month-long crackdown, described by the NCA as the largest of its kind, saw 2,734 businesses visited and £10.7m suspected criminal proceeds seized.
More than 111,097 illegal vapes, 4.5m illegal cigarettes and 622Kg of illegal tobacco were removed from businesses. Around £2.7m worth of illicit commodities were destroyed, including 70kg of cannabis.
Authorities issued over 340 notices for illegal working and renting, which could see landlords and businesses fined tens of thousands of pounds if found liable.
The operation was coordinated by the NCA in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and involved every UK police force, as well as Regional Organised Crime Units, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House.
The NCA said these businesses were ”used to make the proceeds of crime appear like the legitimate profits of a trade or service”.
They sell illicit products and evade tax, and are “often linked” to other types of criminality such as drugs supply and the serious violence it causes, it said.
“Operation Machinize targets businesses on our high street that are being used as cover for a wide range of criminality, making our communities less safe and less prosperous,” said Rachael Herbert, director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA.
“This second phase of Operation Machinize has set a new standard for what can be achieved through the coordinated action of UK law enforcement.
“Depriving criminals of their source of income has a real impact, limiting the amount of funds they can reinvest in further offending and deterring them from taking spaces on our high street that could be used by legitimate businesses.
“These excellent results demonstrate what can be achieved in partnership and show the determination of UK law enforcement to keep our communities safe.”
Sal Melki, senior lead for Machinize 2 at the NCA, said it is important to remember that the majority of shops on our high streets are not considered suspicious.
“Machinize 2 has pioneered a whole-system approach to addressing this problem, with the NCA hosting a joint operational cell where our partners could bring their powers, expertise, and energy to tackling an issue the British public care about,” said Melki.
“Over the course of the month, we have learnt a lot about the threat, the different types of offending occurring on our high street and what tactics are effective in combatting it. We have also learnt that this type of offending is not restricted to any one area, type of shop or demographic.”
Security Minster Dan Jarvis said: “Criminals are using these dodgy shops as fronts for serious organised crime, money laundering and illegal working, risking the future of the British high street.
“We have intensified our joint efforts with law enforcement to dismantle criminal networks and relentlessly pursue those who use dirty money for personal gain. Together we have seized millions in criminal assets, removed harmful drugs from our streets and arrested hundreds of criminals who are undercutting honest business owners. I want to thank every officer who took part in this operation.”
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