Shabana Mahmood Launches £30m High Street Unit To Raid Vape, Barber Shops

The government announced a new £30m High Street organised crime unit to target gangs suspected of using “dodgy” shops such as vape stores, barbers, mini-marts and sweet shops to launder £1bn of criminal money in the UK each year.

“- Published A new £30m High Street organised crime unit has been announced by the government after the BBC's year-long investigative reporting into illegal mini-marts, vape shops and barbers”

BBC

The plan says a £20m National Crime Agency cell will run and coordinate investigations and raids into UK businesses suspected of acting as fronts for gangsters, with the NCA and police forces in Greater Manchester, the West Midlands, Kent and Essex recruiting 75 officers to boost the effort.

BBC

The BBC said the law enforcement response will be run across the UK by the National Crime Agency over the next three years, with shops facing raids, closures and cash seizures in a crackdown by police and trading standards.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood framed the crackdown as a response to criminal exploitation of high streets, saying: “Criminal gangs have exploited our high streets to launder their dirty money and undercut honest businesses.”

The BBC also said the unit will be overseen by Security Minister Dan Jarvis and that £6m of funding will go to trading standards, with the remainder split between immigration enforcement, HMRC and the running of the unit.

The Guardian reported that coordinated raids of illegal retail outlets were launched by the NCA under Operation Machinize 2, which targeted cash intensive businesses in the “grey economy,” with the NCA helping plan raids of more than 2,700 premises and leading to 924 arrests.

The BBC said the NCA reported 950 people had been arrested and more than £10m worth of goods seized over the past 18 months, and that the new unit would help it target and disrupt more “high harm offenders.”

Daily Express

Sal Melki, deputy director of illicit finance at the NCA, said: “This criminal activity makes our communities less safe and less prosperous.”

The BBC described how its year-long investigative reporting exposed illegal mini-marts, vape shops and barbers, and said the government’s response followed an “urgent” Home Office investigation and pledges to change the law.

In the same BBC account, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood reiterated the aim of enforcement, telling audiences: “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.”

The Guardian said trading standards departments will receive an extra £6m to bolster the response to sham businesses in at-risk local authorities, and that new training will help officers identify suspicious businesses, strengthen compliance and boost enforcement.

“WATCH: Christo Foufas reacts to news some shops are being used as fronts GB NEWS Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said Labour is 'hitting back' against the shops The Home Office has announced a new unit specifically targeting criminal gangs operating from so-called "dodgy shops" on British high streets, with businesses facing closures and cash seizures”

GB News

The BBC added that the government pledged to carry out a review on how to strengthen law enforcement powers and to consult on extending the length of closure orders to shut criminal businesses down for longer.

The BBC reported that in April 2025 the BBC joined the NCA as it raided barbers, mini-marts and vape shops, and said the NCA joined the raids in response to intelligence reports about money laundering and illegal working.

It also said Freedom of Information requests revealed for the first time that 3,700 illegal shops had operated across the UK, and that earlier BBC reporting described a “war” against organised crime that authorities said they couldn’t win.

The Guardian said 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, while warning that some businesses are connected to the sale of fake goods, tax evasion, illegal working and illegal drug supply.