Government Announces £30m High Street Organised Crime Unit
The government has announced the creation of a new £30 million High Street organised crime unit following a year-long BBC investigation into illegal activities at mini-marts, vape shops, and barbers.
Over twelve months, uncovered connections between shop fronts and criminal activities including drug gangs, child sexual exploitation, money laundering, immigration offences, and ghost directors involved in the sale of illegal cigarettes and vapes.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) will lead the law enforcement response across the UK over the next three years, supported by increased funding for trading standards.
The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) highlighted that previous government cuts to trading standards resources contributed to organised crime gaining a foothold on High Streets.
The government has committed to reviewing law enforcement powers and consulting on extending closure orders to allow criminal businesses to be shut down for longer periods, an area CTSI identified as needing reform.
The NCA estimates that at least £1 billion in criminal proceeds is laundered annually through High Street stores involved in counterfeit goods, tax evasion, illegal employment, and drug supply.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "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."
Security Minister Dan Jarvis will oversee the High Street organised crime unit, with proposals initially outlined in the 2025 Autumn Budget. The government has now provided further details.
conducted undercover investigations over 12 months, exposing the extent of organised crime on High Streets, prompting an "urgent" Home Office investigation, multiple arrests nationwide, and commitments to legislative changes.
BBC and NCA Raids Reveal Criminal Networks
In April 2025, the BBC joined the NCA in raids on barbers, mini-marts, and vape shops following intelligence that some were used for money laundering and illegal employment.
During May and June 2024, the BBC uncovered secret underground tunnels supplying large quantities of illegal cigarettes to High Street mini-marts in Hull. Authorities warned of a "war" against organised crime, with counterfeit tobacco profits rivaling heroin and cocaine in a black market valued at up to £6 billion annually.
The then Immigration Minister, Seema Malhotra, described the BBC's findings as a "national scandal" and the then-Home Secretary Yvette Cooper called it a "disgrace."
In July 2024, Freedom of Information requests revealed that 3,700 illegal shops had operated across the UK.
In November 2024, investigations exposed asylum seekers buying and selling High Street mini-marts for cash, criminal kingpins erasing £60,000 in illegal working fines, and a Kurdish organised crime gang operating nationwide.
Following these revelations, Home Secretary Mahmood launched an "urgent" investigation involving the NCA, Immigration Enforcement, HMRC, and police forces. She stated that the BBC's evidence showed "the system was broken" and highlighted a pull factor in the small boat migration crisis.
Child Exploitation and Drug Sales on High Streets
In March 2025, a senior council worker reported to West Midlands authorities that children as young as 11 were being sexually abused in High Street mini-marts. Last month, undercover reports revealed the sale of cocaine, cannabis, laughing gas, and prescription pills on these streets. One West Midlands street was described as "lawless" by an anonymous law enforcement source.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said the government was "absolutely focused" on tackling such criminality, pledging stronger powers and more police officers.
Over the past 18 months, the NCA has arrested 950 individuals and seized goods worth over £10 million. The new unit aims to target and disrupt more "high harm offenders."
Sal Melki, deputy director of illicit finance at the NCA, stated: "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."
Lord Bichard, chairman of National Trading Standards, said the unit would "help drive a coordinated national response while strengthening local enforcement capability."
John Herriman, chief executive of the CTSI, told the BBC that trading standards resources had been cut by about 50% between 2011 and 2023.
Herriman said: "There was a 'sense' that the situation on High Streets 'has been getting worse and worse for a number of years,' adding: 'That is pretty demoralising.' This funding is the start of that fight-back process."
Currently, courts can order shops to close for three months. Herriman advocated for powers to extend closures to 12 months, with the possibility of a complete ban for the worst offenders.
Political Responses to the Crime Unit Announcement
In response to the government plans, the Conservatives criticized Labour, stating it had "done more damage to our High Streets than 75 officers can fix."
Chris Philp MP, Shadow Home Secretary, said there were fewer police officers and "anti-business legislation" under the government. "Crime and antisocial behaviour are at unacceptably high levels, every day, too many people witness things that anger and alarm them," he added, pledging that a Tory government would increase police presence.
Get our flagship newsletter with all the headlines you need to start the day. here.
