Trading Standards officers from Leicestershire County Council joined forces with police and partner agencies in a major national operation targeting criminal activity linked to cash-intensive businesses, helping to seize thousands of illegal and unsafe products from premises across the county.
Leicestershire Trading Standards took part in Operation Machinize, a nationwide crackdown led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC), aimed at tackling money laundering, illicit trade, tax evasion and other forms of organised crime.
Working alongside Leicestershire Police, HM Revenue & Customs and other enforcement partners, Trading Standards officers visited 19 businesses across the force area, contributing intelligence, investigative expertise and enforcement action that resulted in the seizure of illegal vapes, illicit tobacco, medicines and electronic goods.
Retail businesses such as mini-marts, barber shops, vape shops, nail bars and car washes are used to make the proceeds of crime appear like the legitimate profits of a trade or service. The premises are also used to sell illicit products, evade tax and are often linked to other types of criminality such as drugs supply and the serious violence it causes.
During the operation more than 800 illegal vapes, 2,500 packets of cigarettes, 290 packets of hand rolled tobacco, 800 packets of smokeless tobacco, medicines and electronic goods were seized.
Two people were arrested for immigration offences and a premises was issued with £90,000 fine for employing illegal workers.
Account Freezing Orders (AFO) to the value of £70,00 were issued to two businesses – AFOs are civil court orders that temporarily block withdrawals and outgoing payments from a bank, building society, or e-money account.
The powers give police the authority to freeze money when they reasonably suspect the funds are the proceeds of crime or are intended for unlawful use.
Laura Panter from the force’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “A huge effort has gone into this national campaign, involving forces from across the country and several other partner agencies.
“The aim was to identify and disrupt illegal activity and focus on cash intensive businesses who were flouting the law.
“Working alongside Trading Standards and HMRC we were able to remove more than £60,000 worth of illegal or unsafe products off the shelves.
“We fully support the NCA and NPCC’s efforts to target organised crime groups who use our local communities to raise funds for their criminal activities in plain sight and focuses on money laundering and the criminal use of cash-intensive high street businesses.”
During the national operation, the partnership delivered:
- 3,029 premises visited and raided
- 349 individuals arrested
- £2.2m in cash seized
- £3.7m account freezing orders obtained
- £4.2m in Duty Tax Evasion identified or prevented
Operation Machinize demonstrates the real impact that can be achieved when agencies work together to tackle criminal activity and protect local communities. Leicestershire Trading Standards played an important role in supporting the operation through intelligence gathering, investigation and enforcement activity, helping to identify businesses and individuals operating outside the law.
Illegal trading undermines legitimate businesses, facilitates criminality and can place consumers at risk. By working closely with Leicestershire Police and other partners, we have helped disrupt unlawful activity and protect communities from harm, while supporting honest businesses that comply with the law.
Trading Standards will continue to investigate offences, gather evidence and, where appropriate, bring prosecutions against those who seek to profit through deception, fraud and other forms of illegal trading.
This operation sends a clear message that criminal activity will be identified, investigated and robustly pursued through the courts wherever the evidence supports enforcement action.
Person:Gary Connors, head of regulatory services
Ronald Ruddock, Trading Standards manager at Leicester City Council said: “The sale of illicit tobacco and vapes not only impacts consumers, but also legitimate businesses who find it difficult to compete with the cut-price alternatives.
“Our inspections in the city focused on businesses where we had received intelligence suggesting non-compliance. Some of the cigarette brands we recovered were not of any recognised brand and it is doubtful they would comply with the required safety standards met by legitimate brands.
“As operations of this nature have become more frequent both locally and nationally and the impact more severe for non-compliant businesses, they have become more cunning in terms of hiding contraband. On this occasion a detector dog was used to assist our searching.
“Selling non-compliant tobacco, illicit cigarettes, or illegal vapes in the UK carries severe criminal, financial, and operational penalties which include fines of up to £10,000, and prison sentences of up to two years. Business may also face premise closure orders and alcohol licence reviews.
“While our focus this time was on cigarettes and vapes, we also found businesses selling prescription-only drugs which were removed from sale. People should be aware of the risks of taking prescription-only medicine without the appropriate medical assessment.”
If anyone has any concerns about criminal activity or suspicions about businesses predominately accepting cash only transactions, they should report it to the NCA or contact HMRC.