UK Police Conduct Widespread Raids on Cash-Rich Businesses in Organised Crime Crackdown

Operation Machinize, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), is a UK-wide crackdown targeting high street businesses such as barbershops, vape stores, and convenience shops suspected of facilitating money laundering, selling counterfeit goods, and involvement in other crimes like immigration and tax offenses. Police forces across regions including Devon and Cornwall, Bolton, East Lancashire, and Scotland have conducted raids and inspections, seizing counterfeit tobacco, illicit cigarettes, vapes, and other goods, while also checking health and safety standards. Although arrests have been made in some cases, many operations resulted in no immediate arrests but served to gather intelligence and enforce regulations. The operation involves coordinated efforts among multiple agencies including Trading Standards, HMRC, immigration enforcement, and the fire service to address a broad spectrum of criminal activities. Public cooperation through intelligence sharing has been emphasized as vital to the success of these efforts. These ongoing actions aim to disrupt organized crime networks exploiting legitimate businesses to launder billions of pounds in criminal cash annually across the UK.