Criminal gangs exploit our community shopping areas to launder their dirty money and undercut honest local businesses.
I know from conversations across our community that this is a major concern for residents and I raise these issues regularly with our local police teams.
Tackling these networks depends heavily on having the right resources, which is why I am pleased that a £30 million nationwide crackdown has been announced targeting dodgy barber shops, vape stores, mini-marts and sweet shops involved in money laundering.
These shops will face raids, closure orders and cash seizures as part of a new drive to clean up our local shopping areas. New measures will include:
- A High Street Organised Crime Unit which will coordinate with the National Crime Agency, Police, Trading Standards, HMRC and Immigration Enforcement.
- Additional officers will strengthen enforcement activity in hotspots.
- Trading Standards will receive a funding boost to increase raids, inspections and enforcement action.
This builds on Operation Machinize, which has already resulted in hundreds of arrests, thousands of premises visited and millions of pounds in criminal assets seized.
I will continue to work closely with our community, police teams, and enforcement agencies to tackle crime and restore the reputations in our local shopping areas.