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“Don’t worry I’ll get this all on Tik Tok!” screams a hooded man on an otherwise quiet South Manchester street. The object of his surveillance is a gaggle of police, immigration and trading standards officers carrying out a search at a non-descript store on Stamford Road, Longsight . The hooded man isn’t happy that they’re there, voicing his discontent for the authorities. He draws a crowd who in turn point their mobile phones at the uniformed officers who are buzzing around the store which is virtually empty and with no signage, making it hard to figure out exactly what it is. Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Yet the store was open, and inside officers found three men. One was nervous, tense, confused and agitated. When questioned, he is unable to give a conclusive answer as to how old he is, how long he has been in the country and how he arrived in the UK. He is eventually arrested under suspicion that he is in the country illegally. The other two, who were found drinking brews and fizzy drinks in the store, can’t explain why they were in there, who owns it, nor can they recall each other’s names. Checks are done and they are free to leave. The premise they were found in was one special attention to the authorities today. No signage on the front, no business name online and no stock or shelving inside raised alarms. What police did find was boxes of illicit cigarettes and a book of takings, which included tips. Once cleared, the shutters are rolled down and investigations continue about this most peculiar shop. The discovery was part of operation Machinize, a National Crime Agency led programme aimed at tackling money laundering and criminal use of cash-intensive high street businesses. Today, teams from the Manchester City Council’s Trading Standards, immigration officers and housing compliance enforcement beat the streets of Cheetham Hill , Longsight, Moss Side , Hulme , and Gorton . The types of businesses types that were visited included hair and beauty salons, barber shops, corner stores, a bakery, travel shop, liquor store and takeaway. The modus operandi was to act on intel of suspected criminal activity at these venues. Businesses with little to no footfall, no set hours, little to no stock were paid special attention. Intelligence suggests that they may pose as shop fronts or lead to the discovery of organised immigration crime (OIC), the sale of illicit cigarettes and vapes, sale of products that are not legal, drugs or exploitation of workers and more. One of the businesses that was visited due to lack of trade was found tucked away on Stockport Road, Longsight. Inside, officers found what looked like a normal hair and beauty salon, wash units in place and beauty products dotted around the store. However, officers were wary about the spare room with a bed and wardrobe found upstairs, the jovial and accommodating part-time employee, who says she only makes £280 a month, the receipts that show the business making just £24 this week and the small clinical waste bins full of needles. When quizzed about the waste bins, the business owner proclaims that the needles are from her mounjaro injections. Adding that she is too “lazy” to return the take them to a local pharmacy for collection, stressing that no form of cosmetic surgery is undertaken at the premises. When quizzed about the shop’s low intake, the business owner replies that running a business is ‘very hard’. The bedroom upstairs? For daytime naps when she's feeling 'depressed'. Not content that all seems above board, a the business is referred to HMRC for further inspection. In Moss Side, a queue began to form outside a popular corner store on Great Western Street. The store's supervisor and part time employee were all too familiar with what was needed from them. "Ah, you know how this works?" Exclaims an officer as they are handed the keys to two locked rooms upstairs. Speaking to the M.E.N, one of the staff members says, "They've been here before, they came a few months ago and took away vapes and disposable vapes that were illegal, we didn't know they were illegal. "We haven't told the boss about this, they told us we can't use phones, but he lives in Canada, we will tell him when it is finished." The check lasts for around 30 minutes and there is no need for any arrests or grilling questions. "Thanks for not closing down our shop." A local quips and draws some laughs as officers spill out onto the street. Speaking about the project, Chris Woodburn, of GMP said: “It’s intelligence led, we haven’t warned them to say that we’re coming around. “We’ve been doing this for six months now, so a number of premises have been targeted, some of them are repeat premises, some of them maybe repeat premises. “So, they would have been targeted previously and if they are continuing with criminality trading standards will take the relevant action against them. “Locals will have noticed by going to nail bars, carwashes, barber shops. Paying in cash or people looking a little bit out of sorts. “Locals need to contact crime stoppers, contact the trading standards department, contact the local officers, make them aware and we will submit that intelligence and act on it.”
