The UK government is set to introduce new measures allowing authorities to shut down illegal shops for up to a year, targeting organised crime on high streets.
The UK government has announced new powers to shut down illegal mini-marts, barbers, and vape shops for up to a year. This move follows extensive investigative reporting by BBC News into organised crime on British high streets, which has exposed drug gangs, child sexual exploitation, money laundering, and immigration crime linked to these establishments.
The current law in England and Wales allows authorities to close a shop for three months, with an option to extend this to six months using anti-social behaviour legislation. The government’s planned change will double the potential closure time, providing investigators with more time to gather evidence, pursue prosecutions, and identify business owners.
Home Secretary Highlights the Severity of the Problem
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood praised the BBC’s reporting, stating that people feel high streets are being taken over by organised crime and immigration criminality. She emphasised that the government is not prepared to tolerate it and that this type of criminality makes people lose faith not just in their local area but in democracy and the country itself.
The Home Office believes that extended closures will prevent rogue operators from simply reopening and resuming illegal activity. This news has been welcomed by Trading Standards officers, who have repeatedly expressed the need for more robust powers to tackle the problem.
Operation Fearless and the Reality on Soho Road
For nine months, BBC News has been investigating the issue and was recently invited to join Mahmood on police raids of mini-marts on Soho Road in the Handsworth area of Birmingham. During these raids, police and Trading Standards officers found illegal cigarettes and snuff. A shopworker was arrested after a makeshift weapon was discovered under the counter.
The shopworker, who identified himself as a student from Afghanistan, admitted that selling illegal cigarettes was wrong but directed the authorities to the manager, who was absent. Soho Road has been the focus of Operation Fearless, a West Midlands Police initiative to tackle street-level crime. PC Victoria Gaunt, one of the officers involved, described the area as the worst she has encountered, with shops selling prescription drugs, cocaine, heroin, and cannabis.
Gaunt also mentioned seeing people walking around with machetes and a significant increase in prostitution and exploitation of girls. A BBC undercover reporter found counterfeit packs of cigarettes on sale for as little as £3, compared to the average cost of a genuine pack, which ranges from £16.50 to £19.50. Shopworkers also confirmed open drug dealing on the street.
The Broader Context of Organised Crime
Over the course of 14 months, BBC News has exposed the shocking reality of organised crime taking over high streets in England and Wales. Investigations revealed shops with secret underground tunnels supplying illegal cigarettes, asylum seekers buying and selling shops for cash, and a Kurdish organised-crime gang operating across Great Britain.
In March this year, it was revealed that a senior council worker had repeatedly shared reports of children as young as 11 being sexually abused in mini-marts with local authorities. The Home Secretary acknowledged that the BBC’s evidence proved the system was broken and announced an urgent investigation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA), Immigration Enforcement, HMRC, and police forces from across England and Wales.
Asked if the government’s intervention was too little, too late, Mahmood expressed her belief that the latest measures represent a game-changing national crackdown. The new extended closure orders are expected to become law by the end of this year, with the powers coming into force in early 2027. The government will also brief authorities in Northern Ireland and Scotland about the changes, as they have different enforcement legislation in place for shutting shops.
