THAMES Valley Police has joined forces with a number of agencies as part of a national crackdown on illegal tobacco.
A second wave of Operation Machinize has been conducted in Thames Valley and across the country in an effort to take action on smuggled tobacco and illegal vapes.
The operation was led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and conducted in cooperation with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC).
It ran throughout October, involving every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies Houses.
During the nationwide operation 2,734 premises were visited and raided, leading to the arrest of 924 people.
More than £10.7 million of suspected criminal proceeds were seized, and over £2.7 million worth of illicit commodities were destroyed.
It also saw the seizure of 70kg of cannabis, 111,000 illegal vapes, 4.5 million illegal cigarettes, and 622Kg of illegal tobacco.
The NCA estimates that at least £12 billion of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year, which is typically smuggled out of the country or integrated into financial systems, often recycled back into criminality.
High street businesses such as vape shops, nail bars, car washes and barber shops can be used to sell illicit products and evade tax and links to other types of criminality such as drugs supply.
Machinize 2 Senior Lead Sal Melki of the NCA said: “Machinize 2 has pioneered a whole-system approach to addressing this problem, with the NCA hosting a joint operational cell where our partners could bring their powers, expertise, and energy to tackling an issue the British public care about.
“While there is organised crime occurring at the top of the pyramid, we do not underestimate the aggregated effect that thousands of shops engaged in so-called lower-level criminality is having on our communities and the criminal supply chains that profit from them.
“This phase of the operation has been a big success and is one of the largest operations of its kind.”
He also explained: “We acknowledge the problem won’t be solved overnight or through disruptive action alone – today’s high street is subject to many socio-economic factors beyond the scope of a law enforcement partnership.
“We are therefore working closely with government to use the learning from this operation to build on and develop long-term solutions.”
