Takeaways, vape shops and massage parlours raided

Chinese takeaways, vape shops and massage parlours are among businesses raided in Herefordshire and Worcestershire as police and other enforcers investigate money laundering, illegal workers and the sale of illicit goods.

In a month of action, nine people were arrested, bank accounts containing over £250,000 in suspected illicit funds were frozen and £12,000 in cash was seized.

Trading Standards confiscated approximately £50,000 worth of illegal goods and police seized a range of dangerous and illegal items, including four knives, one knuckleduster, two firearms and cannabis.

Among businesses probed was a village corner shop where almost £200,000 was banked in one month.

The BBC joined the teams as they carried out raids in part of Herefordshire as part of Operation Machinize.

More than 60 West Mercia Police officers, HMRC officials, immigration and trading standards officers were squeezed into the briefing room.

Erin Brown, a West Mercia Police financial intelligence officer said the type of crime they were investigating was "taking place in every street in the country".

She said many of the illegal goods that are concealed out of sight are hidden in compartments behind tills, inside walls, in basements, or even tucked away in microwaves.

It took weeks of painstaking work to get to this point, with teams collating evidence from a variety of sources from the National Crime Agency to members of the public.

Then Ms Brown looks for potential red flags in the financial records of these companies, including one takeaway in a small county town.

"These are three bank accounts we're looking to freeze. If you look at this account here, the balance on that account is £79,800," she explained.

"Their annual turnover is £414,000 which, for a small takeaway in such a small town, we don't think is viable.

"Another reason we want to go through the door is to see how they're operating, whether they're operating beyond their needs or not."

Ms Brown went on to say that the force also had intelligence about other crimes the firm was alleged to be involved in, including human trafficking.

"References to money laundering, illegal working, which again could explain the £414,000 that's going through the account," she added.

Ms Brown also showed us the accounts of a corner shop in a small village, which appeared even more brazen.

"This person has put £199,000 into their account, just in July," she said. "In one month. He also owns a Ferrari that's worth more than £260,000."

Police have powers to look into these accounts without anyone knowing, meaning their raids may well, they hope, come as a shock to the business owners.

Using cryptocurrency is also not a secure hiding place, as Ms Brown said the force had the ability to track it.

Any suspicious accounts are then reported to Det Sgt Rachel O'Brian, who has led many of the raids. She explained targets are chosen based on their level of "threat and risk".

"Certain intelligence might be stressing drug dealing," said Det Sgt O'Brian.

"We've had somewhere using children as runners for drugs, those are obviously high risk for us, so those are the ones we'd be targeting.

"Also, any immigration offences where people perhaps are being used as human slaves and people are being trafficked, they would be high risk as well."

We joined the team on their seventh day of raids, where six businesses all in close proximity to each other were going to be approached.

In order to not tip them off, police struck the targets simultaneously. The takeaway staff willingly opened the doors but it was silence at the massage parlour.

Two officers armed with a large crowbar and a red battering ram get through the first of five doors, a stream of officers running upstairs and down corridors in what seemed to be a rabbit warren.

Only one woman was discovered on the premises who was found while she deleted text messages. She was later arrested for breaching her visa conditions.

Police requested the BBC did not identify targeted premises or individuals pending any charges being brought, so as not to jeopardise criminal proceedings.

Next door at the takeaway, officers flicked through receipts, looking for suspected money laundering offences as others engaged with the owner upstairs.

Around the corner from the first location, we arrived to find an officer removing a large broad sword that had been surrendered from inside a vape shop.

Trading Standards also remove a bag of illegal vaping equipment from the same premises.

Meanwhile at a second vape shop, a secret drawer is discovered that only opens using magnets, hiding more illegal vapes.

Det Sgt O'Brian said the month-long action sent a clear message.

"We know that cash-heavy enterprises are frequently exploited for money laundering," she said.

"Organised crime groups often target legitimate businesses, such as barber shops, using their high cash turnover to conceal illegal financial flows.

"Operation Machinize sends an uncompromising message: criminal activity will not be tolerated in our communities."

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