Thousands of premises have been targeted in the second phase of Operation Machinize, a national initiative targeting the criminal exploitation of high street businesses.
Operation Machinize 2, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and conducted in co-operation with the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), ran throughout October and involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards (including Knowsley Council’s Trading Standards team), HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House. During the operation, the partnership delivered:
- 2734 premises visited and raided
- 924 individuals arrested
- Over £10.7m of suspected criminal proceeds seized
- Over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed
These figures include the removal of 70Kg of cannabis from streets across the country, 111,000 harmful, illegal vapes, 4.5m illegal cigarettes and 622Kg of illegal tobacco (equalling £3.5m of duty taxes evaded). Furthermore, 341 Referral Notices for illegal working and renting were issued meaning businesses could face fines of up to £60,000 per worker with landlords facing fines of up to £20,000 per tenant if found liable, and over 450 companies have been referred to Companies House for further investigation.
This is the largest operation of its kind focused on rooting out the economic crime and grey economy that makes our high streets less safe and prosperous.
Rachael Herbert, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA, 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.
“This second phase of Operation Machinize has set a new standard for what can be achieved through the coordinated action of UK law enforcement. Thousands of officers have been deployed up and down our country, targeting criminal profits and the means of generating them. 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.”
Cllr Shelley Powell, Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods, said:“Multi-agency working is an incredibly important part of our work, pooling resources and information to effectively tackle issues in local areas. We were delighted to be part of the latest Operation Machinize which targets the criminal exploitation of high street businesses, whilst making our communities safer.”