More than 4.5 million illegal cigarettes, 600kg of illicit tobacco, and 111,000 illegal vapes have been seized in a nationwide crackdown on criminal activity across UK high streets, officials said. The month-long Operation Machinize 2, led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) with police forces, HMRC, and Trading Standards, targeted businesses being used as fronts for money laundering and illicit sales. Authorities raided 2,734 premises, made 924 arrests, and seized £10.7 million in suspected criminal proceeds.
Officials said the operation disrupted organized crime networks exploiting small shops for tax evasion and the sale of counterfeit goods. The NCA estimated the haul represents £3.4 million in unpaid duty, while counterfeit and harmful products worth £2.7 million were destroyed.
Security Minister Dan Jarvis said the coordinated effort was part of a broader drive to “dismantle criminal networks and protect honest business owners,” while NCA officials hailed the operation as a “new standard” in joint enforcement.
The first phase of Operation Machinize in April yielded far smaller seizures, highlighting the growing scale of illicit trade on UK high streets.
