Trading Standards take part in Operation Machinize 2

A shop raided in Blackburn town centre as part of a national operation was found to have a considerable number of illicit products.

Throughout the month of October, the National Crime Agency co-ordinated a national operation, called Operation Machinize 2, to target the criminal exploitation of high street businesses that threaten the safety of our communities.

Thousands of businesses were targeted in the largest operation of its kind and involved every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, Home Office Immigration Enforcement, Trading Standards, HM Revenue & Customs and Companies House.

The NCA estimates that at least £12bn of criminal cash is generated in the UK each year, which is typically smuggled out of the country or integrated into financial systems, often to be recycled back into criminality. 

On Tuesday 21 October, Blackburn with Darwen borough council’s Trading Standards team carried out a raid on a shop in Blackburn town centre alongside Blackburn and Darwen Police Task Force, the Police Economic Crime Unit, a sniffer dog and the Home Office Immigration Enforcement team.

Items seized were:

• 13 pouches of shisha tobacco (incorrectly labelled – without relevant UK health warnings)
• 3,050g of hand rolling tobacco (all non-duty paid, with a mixture of offences under the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and Trade Marks Act 1994)
• 14,387 illicit cigarettes (all non-duty paid, with a mixture of offences under the Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Products Regulations 2015 and Trade Marks Act 1994)
• 35 non-compliant vapes

The items were concealed behind kickboards in the main shop and the storeroom.

As a result of these discoveries, the owner is currently being investigated under the Trade Marks Act 1994, Standardised Packaging of Tobacco Regulations 2015 and Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. Possible punishment includes prison sentences and the surrender of all assets used in criminality.

Councillor Jim Smith, Executive Member for Environment and Resident Services said:

Our Trading Standards team work incredibly hard to keep our community safe, often undertaking raids on businesses in the borough to disrupt the cash received from selling illegitimate products.

Taking part in national operations such as Operation Machinize 2 is an opportunity to work with our colleagues across the country to have real impact and I’m proud that we have contributed to the overall figures.

Thank you to all involved in the raid that took place in Blackburn. We will not rest while there are criminals operating in the borough.

During the national operation, 2,734 premises were visited and raided with 924 individuals arrested. Over £10.7m of suspected criminal proceeds were seized, with over £2.7m worth of illicit commodities destroyed. This included 70Kg of cannabis, 111,000 illegal vapes, 4.5m illegal cigarettes and 622Kg of illegal tobacco (equalling £3.5m of duty taxes evaded).

Rachael Herbert, Director of the National Economic Crime Centre at the NCA, said:

Operation Machinize targets businesses on our high street that are being used as cover for a wide range of criminality, making our communities less safe and less prosperous.

This second phase of Operation Machinize has set a new standard for what can be achieved through the coordinated action of UK law enforcement. Thousands of officers have been deployed up and down our country, targeting criminal profits and the means of generating them. Hundreds of thousands of harmful and illegal products have been taken off our streets, and over £10m in cash, frozen in bank accounts and criminal assets seized. Depriving criminals of their source of income has a real impact, limiting the amount of funds they can reinvest in further offending and deterring them from taking spaces on our high street that could be used by legitimate businesses.

These excellent results demonstrate what can be achieved in partnership and show the determination of UK law enforcement to keep our communities safe. We ask for the public’s support as we move forward and to continue to report suspected criminality to the police.