A new £20 million nationwide police crackdown is targeting gangs running 'dodgy' shops in the West Midlands. The Home Office has provided funding to close down rogue barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts, and sweet shops that are fronts for criminals.
These shops are linked to organised crime gangs involved in money laundering, tax evasion, and illegal working. A new High Street Organised Crime Unit is being established by the Government, with West Midlands Police receiving immediate funding to tackle these issues. The unit will bring together Government departments, police, and councils to target criminal networks operating in plain sight across Britain’s high streets.
The West Midlands is one of four areas with the highest levels of high street organised crime, alongside Greater Manchester, Kent, and Essex. Cash will support crackdowns in Soho Road, Birmingham, Dudley, and Sandwell, areas identified as having the highest levels of such activity.
Thousands of businesses are expected to be raided nationwide, with hundreds of arrests anticipated and millions in cash seized. The Home Office stated this is part of a 'national intensification campaign' that will be placed on a 'permanent footing annually' to drive coordinated enforcement across the country.
The new funding will support the National Crime Agency's (NCA) Operation Machinize, which has already seen officers carry out visits to more than 150 premises in the West Midlands. West Midlands Police's Operation Fearless has disrupted 60 organised crime groups and seized several million pounds worth of illicit goods, including tobacco, vapes, and counterfeit items.
The NCA estimates that £12 billion of criminal cash is generated in the UK and laundered through high street shops to hide profits. Some shops are also linked to selling fake goods, tax evasion, illegal working, and illegal drug supply.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said: 'Criminal groups are using seemingly legitimate businesses across the West Midlands as fronts for serious organised crime, money laundering, and illegal working. We are backing West Midlands Police with new funding, better intelligence, and more officers to target these criminal enterprises. The High Street Organised Crime Unit will provide immediate funding to boost police forces' response to these groups where they are most prevalent.'
An additional £10 million will be split between other organisations to tackle organised crime: £6 million to Trading Standards, £1.5 million to immigration enforcement, £1.35 million to HMRC, and £900,000 for running the High Street Organised Crime Unit based at the Home Office.
