‘Dodgy’ shops handling criminal cash targeted by new unit

“Dodgy” retail outlets such as vape stores, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops suspected of being used to launder £1bn of criminal money will be targeted by a new specialist unit, the government has said.A £20m National Crime Agency cell will run and coordinate investigations and raids into UK businesses suspected of acting as fronts for gangsters, the Home Office said.The NCA and police forces in Greater Manchester, the West ­Midlands, Kent and Essex will recruit 75 officers to boost the effort.Labour vowed to crack down on “dodgy” outlets such as US candy shops in its general election manifesto, amid investigations into tax evasion and the sale of counterfeit goods.The move comes as Reform UK and the Conservatives blame Labour for a decline in UK high streets, as household brands collapse and shoplifting rises.Trading standards departments will receive an extra £6m to bolster the response to sham businesses in at-risk local authorities, according to the latest announcement.New training will help officers identify suspicious businesses, strengthen compliance and boost enforcement.The cash will come from a £30m pot put aside by the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, in last November’s budget.Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters in a recent YouGov poll. Photograph: Linda Nylind/The GuardianThere is growing concern that many such businesses act as fronts for money laundering, tax fraud and illegal work.The NCA estimates at least £12bn of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year, with £1bn laundered through high street businesses such as mini-marts, barber shops, vape stores and sweet shops.Some businesses are also connected to the sale of fake goods, tax evasion, illegal working and illegal drug supply.As many as half of convenience stores and vape retailers in some areas are estimated to have links with organised crime, according to trading standards, while up to a third of American candy stores and one in four takeaways in specific areas are suspected of being a front for criminal activity.A new High Street Organised Crime Unit, to be chaired by the security minister, Dan Jarvis, has also been established to bring together government departments, policing partners and trading standards.Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, said: “Criminal gangs have exploited our high streets to launder their dirty money and undercut honest businesses.“We are hitting back with a nationwide crackdown to shut these fronts down, seize dirty cash and drive organised crime off our high streets and put bosses behind bars.”A police officer searching a shop in Greater Manchester. The NCA has raided thousands of retail outlets of late, seizing £10.7m of suspected illegal proceeds. Photograph: GMP/PACoordinated raids of illegal retail outlets have been launched by the NCA under Operation Machinize 2, which targeted cash intensive businesses in the “grey economy”.The NCA, the body responsible for fighting serious and organised crime, helped plan the raids of more than 2,700 premises, leading to 924 arrests.Police seized more than £10.7m of suspected illegal proceeds, 111,000 illegal vapes, 70kg of cannabis and 4.5m illegal cigarettes.Research released in January showed that people feel high streets have declined more than any other part of their local area.Improving shopping precincts was the third most important local issue for voters, behind good healthcare and reducing crime, according to polling conducted by YouGov.Reform UK supporters were more likely than anyone else to say their area had significantly declined, underlining what researchers called a “deep sense of place-based resentment” towards Westminster.