Police raids tackle high street cash businesses

Police raids across Lincolnshire have uncovered nine elaborate tobacco ‘hides’, thousands of illicit tobacco products and multi-million-pound mobile phone scam.

The enforcement action was carried out as part of a strategic multi-agency operation as part of a second phase of Operation Machinize, the ongoing National Crime Agency project to tackle money laundering and criminal use of cash-intensive high street businesses.

The criminality underpinning many of these cash-intensive stores often links into a wider network of deeper, highly organised criminal activity.

Enforcements across Lincolnshire resulted in:

• 37 premises being visited (commercial and residential)
• Approximately 50 brand new mobile phones seized (that had been fraudulently obtained)
• More than 130,000 illicit cigarettes, 37,000g of hand rolling tobacco, and 2,000 vapes seized
• £40,000 cash seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act
• Four arrests for possession of cigarettes infringing trademarks contrary to section 92 of the Trademarks Act 1994, with investigations ongoing
• A Civil Penalty Referral Notice issued linked to illegal working
• Prohibition and enforcement notices being issued on Fire Safety matters
• 10 separate criminal investigations underway - three involve shop workers, seven relate to people operating the businesses

The premises were targeted by a unified, strategic taskforce established to disrupt those who attempt to bring their destructive and harmful activity to the high streets of Lincolnshire and beyond.

Inspector Paul Sands, who co-ordinated the overall activity, said: “The lengths criminals go to to hide their contraband is indicative of how important a part it plays within their broader criminality.  The sale of illicit tobacco products is a lucrative means to fund very sophisticated, highly organised criminal activity, which can include human trafficking, money laundering, drug supply and other illicit activity which ultimately impacts every one of us directly or indirectly.

“Every premises we visit presents an opportunity to potentially uncover intelligence which brings us closer to those higher up the criminal chain. It also enables us to remove counterfeit goods from circulation — products that often fail to meet essential safety and regulatory standards.

“The key to tackling this type of crime is effective collaboration with our partners

and our community. By consistently disrupting these networks, we send a clear message: criminal activity will not go unchecked in Lincolnshire, and we remain committed to using every legal avenue at our disposal to dismantle illicit operations at every level.”

Specific findings from the major operation in Lincolnshire included:

• The uncovering of nine elaborate ‘hides’ across the county
• The discovery of a car bonnet being used to conceal illicit goods in Boston
• A hidden room in Bourne lined with shelves of illegal goods
• Thousands of cigarettes hidden behind a false wall in Grantham
• A medicine cabinet in Lincoln concealing illegal items
• A ‘lazy Susan’ in Gainsborough used by criminals to hide prohibited goods
• A linked operation in Skegness targeting a network of mobile phone scams and money laundering
• Civil Penalty Referral Notice for illegal working issued in Boston
• Work with the Fire Service to issue prohibition and enforcement notices.

Police are calling on the public to help tackle these criminal operations by reporting suspicious activity and refusing to engage with illegal trade or scams. 

“Residents can play a crucial role in helping us dismantle these harmful networks, keeping Lincolnshire safe for everyone,” said a spokesperson.

People can engage by 

• speaking to officers at various engagement opportunities
• emailing the Neighbourhood Police Teams (NPTs) directly via the police website
• chat with officers on foot patrols
• calling 101
•  or call / email anonymously, via Crimestoppers.

Pictured is search dog Toby discovering a quantity of new mobile phones at an address in Skegness.