Our local high streets, the familiar heart of so many communities, have become the front line in a major battle against organised crime. In a sweeping month-long crackdown, police and crime agencies have descended on mini-marts, vape shops, barbers, and takeaways, uncovering a hidden world of illicit trade and exploitation.
The coordinated action, the largest of its kind, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), has seen a staggering level of criminal activity disrupted. The numbers tell a powerful story: over 920 people arrested, more than 2,700 premises visited, and a massive £10.7 million in criminal proceeds seized. This haul included over half a million pounds in cash, 70kg of cannabis, and millions of illegal vapes and tobacco products—the latter alone estimated to have evaded more than £3.5 million in duty.
Organised Crime Networks Deeply Embedded in Local Communities
But this is about more than just contraband; it’s about the systems that enable it. The operation revealed how criminal networks are deeply embedded in our towns. Authorities issued more than 340 notices for illegal working and renting, which could see complicit businesses and landlords facing tens of thousands of pounds in fines.
This crackdown comes hot on the heels of a BBC investigation that pulled back the curtain on a sophisticated Kurdish criminal network. Undercover journalists posing as asylum seekers were shown how easy it was to take over a shop and make huge weekly profits from illegal tobacco. The reporting also exposed so-called ‘crime fixers’ who brazenly claimed they could make £60,000 fines for illegal working simply “disappear.”
The problem is so pervasive that senior politicians are now warning that these criminal networks are acting as a direct “pull factor” for illegal migrants to the UK, promising easy money and a way to bypass the law.
Rachael Herbert of the NCA stated, “Thousands of officers have been deployed up and down our country, targeting criminal profits and the means of generating them.” The goal is clear: to dismantle the economic engine of these groups. Over 450 registered businesses have now been referred to Companies House for further investigation into practices like using “ghost directors” to hide true ownership.
The impact on the legitimate British High Street is severe. Criminals are using these “dodgy shops” as fronts for serious organised crime, money laundering, and exploitation. In response, a group of 25 Labour MPs, led by Melanie Onn, is campaigning to “shut down dodgy shops,” calling for new legislative powers and tougher penalties.
As the Home Office pledges to investigate the BBC’s findings, the message from this vast operation is clear: the fight to reclaim our high streets from organised crime has only just begun.
