Greater Manchester Police raids target illegal working and illicit tobacco

Greater Manchester Police have carried out a series of raids on car washes, vape sellers, corner shops, barber shops, nail bars and cafes as part of a nationwide crackdown on serious organised crime. The operation, known as Operation Mechanize, brings together police, Trading Standards, Immigration Enforcement and other agencies to target illegal working, illicit tobacco and organised immigration crime on the high street.

In Longsight, Manchester, immigration officers checked employees at a car wash. They found a teenager who should not have been working full time. Officers questioned five men at the car wash. One was arrested after they discovered he had been refused entry to the UK. Police said car washes are well known for staff who are not paying taxes, are not meant to be working, or are working illegally. Some workers are paid £10 to £15 a day, some £2.50 an hour, and some are not paid at all. Instead, they may get a room for the night or the week and a small amount of food.

National figures show immigration enforcement officers carried out more than 7,000 illegal working visits across the UK in the first six months of this year. That led to nearly 5,000 arrests, up 20 per cent on the same period last year.

During the raids, police searched a shop and found sleeves of illicit tobacco. They also discovered a secret compartment under the floor. Intelligence suggested someone had been living there, and officers found clear signs that someone had. Police believed illicit tobacco may have been stored there at some point but had since been moved upstairs to be sold. Immigration enforcement officers ran on-the-spot checks on whether workers had the right to live and work in the UK. A man was asked why officers thought he was living in the hidden space. He said he had a nice house and invited officers to visit. He said he was not a British national, was from Iraq and had been in the UK for around 11 years. When asked how he came to the UK, he said he did not know or had forgotten.

Officers also visited multiple businesses suspected of links to organised immigration crime. At a cafe, they found illegal shisha and used cigarettes in the kitchen. The tobacco was flavoured and not in plain packaging, both of which make it illegal, and smoking was not allowed on the premises. While the police team was out, it received a report from a member of the public about people using a car to deal illegal tobacco. Bags were found in the back of the car.

Police and partners said the operation targets barber shops, nail bars and other cash-intensive businesses. One officer described the problem as a drop in the ocean and a massive issue that is hard to tackle. The officer said they would never get to the bottom of it but would keep picking at it. Similar operations have seized more than £1 million worth of illicit goods in just 12 months. That is seen as a small amount compared with the organised crime groups that operate in plain sight.