Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has announced a new government unit aimed at cracking down on criminal gangs exploiting high street shops for money laundering. The West Midlands has been identified as a hotspot for such activity.
Government crackdown on high street crime
In a post on social media platform X, Mahmood stated: "Criminal gangs have exploited our high streets to launder their dirty money and undercut honest businesses. We're hitting back with a nationwide crackdown to shut these fronts down, seize dirty cash, drive organised crime off our high streets and put bosses behind bars."
The unit will be run by the National Crime Agency (NCA) over the next three years. Government plans include raids, closures, and cash seizures by police and trading standards. Some £20 million of funding will go towards the NCA, with 75 new police officers deployed in three hotspot regions: Greater Manchester, West Midlands, and Essex and Kent forces. An additional £6 million will be allocated to trading standards, and £3.75 million will be split between immigration enforcement, HMRC, and the running of the unit.
Impact on communities
Sal Melki, deputy director of illicit finance at the NCA, said: "This criminal activity makes our communities less safe and less prosperous. It undermines legitimate business, deprives public services of tax revenues, and fuels a range of predicate offences such as the drugs trade, illicit goods, trafficking, and organised immigration crime."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also commented, stating that the Labour Party is "absolutely focused" on tackling such criminality.
