Devon & Cornwall Police News site

Devon & Cornwall Police takes part in Operation Machinize

Last month Devon & Cornwall Police and partner agencies took part in a UK-wide crackdown on criminals exploiting high street businesses. This is the third time that Operation Machinize has taken place across the country as the National Crime Agency (NCA) leads the law enforcement response to organised crime on our high streets.

The NCA, alongside the National Police Chiefs’ Council, co-ordinated a month of action targeting money laundering and the criminal use of cash-intensive high street businesses. Throughout October 2026:

• 3,029 premises visited or raided
• 349 arrests made
• £2.2m cash seized
• £3.7m account freezing orders obtained
• £4.2m in Duty Tax Evasion identified or prevented

In addition, there were £6.8m of criminal commodity seizures which included £2.6m worth of illegal drugs, 49,295 illegal vapes, 1,645kg of illegal tobacco and 6.3m illegal cigarettes.

In Devon and Cornwall, police made 156 visits to high street businesses, supported by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit, fire services, Heart of the South West Trading Standards, HM Revenue and Customs and Home Office Immigration Enforcement. Police officers specially trained in modern slavery also attended some businesses.

18 arrests were made, including two for modern slavery which required no further action, and for handling stolen goods and illicit tobacco which were dealt with by civil fines through HMRC and for aggravated illegal entry which was dealt with by Immigration Enforcement, and one arrest for possession of drugs which resulted in a charge. In addition, £800 cash and 2,960 cigarettes to the value of £740 were seized by police, and two business closure orders are under consideration.

Against this background, there has also been positive engagement with legitimate businesses, and intelligence leads developed for future investigation.

Trading Standards in Devon seized 76320 cigarettes (3816 packets) and 23.05 kg of hand rolling tobacco (461 x 50g pouches) with a street value approximately £35,000. Two stash vehicles, used to store counterfeit cigarettes and tobacco were also seized.

The NCA estimates that at least £1 billion of criminal cash is laundered through a range of cash-intensive high street businesses like vape shops and barber shops in the UK each year and Machinize is pivotal to addressing this issue – removing offenders and depriving them of their criminal profits. Since May 2025 the operation in total has now raided more than 6,000 high street businesses suspected of being engaged in criminality.

Machinize is now not just a month of action and is being run around the clock, 365 days a year. The criminals being targeted are not just money laundering but are engaged across the full spectrum of high harm criminality, such as drugs, immigration and human trafficking offences.

Full NCA media release: Operation Machinize: NCA-coordinated crackdown across the UK as work to reclaim the high street gathers pace - National Crime Agency

NCA Op Machinize October 2026 video: https://youtube.com/shorts/jb-Uhwpiv1M?si=r1xBb8KTPgHEMIby

NB: The business pictured in photos below has no involvement in criminal activity. Officers are retrieving a suitcase which was abandoned on its awning by a suspect.