Thousands of premises targeted in largest high street crime crackdown

Thousands of high street businesses across the UK have been targeted as part of a national crackdown on economic crime and the criminal exploitation of local premises.The coordinated effort, known as Operation Machinize 2, was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in partnership with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) last month. Every UK police force took part, along with Regional Organised Crime Units, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue and Customs, and Companies House.

According to figures released by the NCA, 2,734 premises were visited or raided and 924 individuals were arrested. 

Officers seized an estimated £10.7m in suspected criminal proceeds and destroyed more than £2.7m worth of illicit goods.

The operation also removed 70kg of cannabis, 111,000 illegal vapes, 4.5 million counterfeit cigarettes and 622kg of illegal tobacco (representing £3.5m duty taxes evaded). 

In addition, 341 referral notices were issued for illegal working and renting, with affected businesses and landlords facing potential fines of up to £60,000 per worker and £20,000 per tenant if found liable. More than 450 companies were also referred to Companies House for further investigation.

The NCA said the initiative was the largest of its kind targeting criminal use of high street premises. It aims to tackle what it described as the “grey economy” – businesses used to launder money, sell illicit goods or evade tax.

It comes as high street venues including mini-marts, barbershops, vape shops, nail bars and car washes are among those being exploited to conceal illegal profits or facilitate wider criminal activity such as drug trafficking and associated violence.

The NCA estimates that at least £12bn of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year, much of which is moved offshore or channelled through financial systems to fund further offending.

Rachael Herbert, director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA, said: “Hundreds of thousands of harmful and illegal products have been taken off our streets, and over £10m in cash, frozen in bank accounts and criminal assets seized. 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. We ask for the public’s support as we move forward and to continue to report suspected criminality to the police.”

Sal Melki, senior lead for Machinize 2 at the NCA, said: “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.

“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. The scale of this challenge is significant, but it is also important to remember that the majority of shops on our high streets are not considered suspicious.”

Security minister, Dan Jarvis, added: “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.”