Smuggling.

 

The photo above was taken at the launch of a brand new local community hub. The press release that accompanied the launch reads:- "A new community hub created by local not-for-profit housing provider Orbit has been officially opened in Erith. The hub located at Orchard House, Northend Road, provides access to free advice and guidance on a range of issues such as managing finances, health and well being, employability and skills as part of Orbit’s Better Days programme. The venue also provides a space for community-run events and activities. Lucy McGovern, Head of Community Investment for Orbit, said: “We’re proud to officially open our new community hub at Orchard House. Having a local presence and being able to offer people the face-to-face support they need to lead happy, healthy and fulfilled lives is really important to us. "We hope the residents find that the hub offers a safe and welcoming space where they can access free advice, build connections and socialise.” London Borough of Bexley Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Housing, Councillor Brian Bishop unveiled a plaque to mark the official opening of the hub at a celebration event for the community, also attended by Daniel Francis MP, which included free food, crafts and games. Councillor Bishop commented: “It was a pleasure to attend the opening of this fantastic new community hub in Erith. This space will be an invaluable resource, providing essential support for local residents and creating new opportunities to bring the community together.”

A serious issue relating to trading standards and organised criminality which started off in central London - primarily in the borough of Westminster, has now spread to involve shady businesses in the local area. The issue, which saw the number of these stores on Oxford Street balloon to as many as 40 during the pandemic (an example is shown in the photo above - click on it to see a larger version), has been a significant headache for Westminster City Council and the Metropolitan Police. These shops, often operating under generic names like "American Candy Land" or "Candy World," are accused of a litany of offences that go far beyond simply selling overpriced sweets. At the heart of the problem lies a staggering level of business rates avoidance, with estimates running into the millions of pounds. Investigations have revealed complex webs of ownership, often involving shell companies and frequent changes in directorship, making it incredibly difficult for authorities to hold anyone accountable for the unpaid taxes. This has not only deprived public services of vital funds but has also given these stores an unfair advantage over legitimate businesses that play by the rules. Beyond the financial misconduct, a more immediate threat to public safety has been the sale of illegal and dangerous products. Trading Standards officers have conducted numerous raids, seizing goods worth millions of pounds. Among the confiscated items have been counterfeit electronics, fake designer phone cases, and, most alarmingly, unregulated vapes with nicotine levels far exceeding UK legal limits. The food products themselves have also come under scrutiny. Raids have uncovered sweets and snacks containing ingredients and additives that are banned in the UK due to health concerns, including links to hyperactivity in children. Furthermore, many of these imported goods lack proper labelling, including crucial allergen information, posing a significant risk to consumers. In one raid in October 2024, hundreds of illegal confectionery products, including cereals and drinks with banned colourings, were seized and subsequently destroyed. The brazenness of some of these establishments was starkly highlighted in a recent and shocking incident. In April 2025, a tourist was charged nearly £900 for two bags of sweets. The subsequent investigation led to a major raid on the premises, where authorities discovered a secret underground tunnel and the largest-ever haul of suspected counterfeit goods on Oxford Street. This single incident laid bare the multi-faceted nature of the criminal activity associated with these shops. Westminster City Council has been at the forefront of the battle to reclaim Oxford Street. Through a combination of persistent enforcement action, including regular raids and legal proceedings to recover unpaid business rates, the council has managed to significantly reduce the number of these illicit stores. By March 2025, the number of candy and souvenir shops on Oxford Street had dropped to 18. Councillor Adam Hug, the leader of Westminster City Council, has been vocal about the council's determination to tackle the issue, stating that they are making life "sour for the rogue US sweet shop trade." The council's efforts are part of a broader strategy to rejuvenate Oxford Street and restore its reputation as a world-class retail destination. While the battle is not yet over, the coordinated efforts of the council and the police are sending a clear message: London will not tolerate businesses that operate outside the law, exploit tourists, and endanger public health. The issue has now spread to the London Borough of Bexley. The council made the following announcement last week::- "The Trading Standards team at the Council, supported by Metropolitan Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams, has successfully secured four Closure Orders against shops in the borough found to be selling illicit tobacco, cigarettes, and vapes. The orders, granted by Bromley Magistrates Court on Friday, 30 May 2025, come under the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. The four premises, now closed for a period of three months until 23:59 on 29 August 2025, are: Euro Express, High Street, Sidcup, Bexley Express, The Broadway, Bexleyheath, Candy Shop, Albert Road, Belvedere, Lithuanian Food Centre, Gilbert Road, Belvedere.  These closures follow extensive investigations that included numerous test purchases and seizures of illegal products from each location. Councillor Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, Leader of the Council, said: The success in securing these closure orders sends a clear message that the sale of illicit tobacco, cigarettes, and vapes will not be tolerated in our borough. These products pose significant health risks to our communities, undermine legitimate businesses, and are often linked to wider criminal activity. We are committed to working with our partners, including the Police Safer Neighbourhood Teams, to protect our residents and maintain a fair trading environment." Details of the investigations leading to the closure orders include:- Euro Express: Four successful test purchases of illicit tobacco products between February 2024 and April 2025, alongside four seizures totalling 1719 packets of illicit/counterfeit cigarettes, 3.7kg of illicit/counterfeit tobacco, and 215 illegal vapes. Bexley Express: Three successful test purchases of illicit tobacco products between February and April 2025, and two seizures yielding 324 illegal vapes, 8 packets of illicit cigarettes, and 9.3kgs of illicit shisha tobacco. Candy Shop: Three successful test purchases of illicit tobacco products from May 2024 to February 2025, and one seizure of 261 packets of illicit/counterfeit cigarettes and 2.7kgs of illicit/counterfeit tobacco. Lithuanian Food Centre: One successful test purchase of illicit tobacco in September 2024, and two seizures in September 2024 and April 2025, confiscating 136 illegal vapes. This premises had also been subject to an armed robbery in January 2025. In addition to the closures, an Enforcement Order undertaking was agreed and signed by the owner of Euro Mini Market, Bellegrove Road, Welling. For a period of 12 months, they have committed to: Not selling any nicotine-containing products. Not employing anyone without the right to work in the UK. Providing appropriate underage sale training to staff every six months. Operating a Challenge 25 system. Maintaining a challenge book.  Investigations at Euro Mini Market included five successful test purchases of illicit tobacco products and a vape between May 2024 and April 2025, which notably included one underage sale test purchase for a vape and one for a packet of illicit cigarettes. A seizure in December 2024 confiscated 2kg of illicit Shisha tobacco. These actions demonstrate a continued commitment by Trading Standards and the Police to tackle the illegal trade of age-restricted and counterfeit goods in the borough". Comments and feedback to me as usual at hugh.neal@gmail.com. 

We are now approaching the tenth anniversary of the breaking up of one of the greatest criminal conspiracies in UK history - which was masterminded by a couple of local gangsters. Ringleader Harry Shilling, 26, from Swanley, and his right-hand man Michael Defraine, 30, from Bexleyheath, tapped into an underground European arms market to smuggle 31 machine guns and more than 1,500 rounds of ammunition into the UK by boat, the MV Albernina (photo above - click on it to see a larger version) via Cuxton Marina on the River Medway in Kent, in August 2015. National Crime Agency investigators said at the time that the assault rifles - Czech-made VZ58s - were "mass casualty weapons" and the network that supplied the guns also supplied Amedy Coulibaly, the man who attacked a Jewish supermarket in Paris after his co-conspirators, the Kouachi brothers, stormed the office of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in January 2015. The attacks killed 17 people over three days.The former Eastern bloc military firearms, de-activated and modified to fire blanks, were sold legally in Slovakia, only for black market arms dealers to re-activate them and sell them on across Europe. Slovakian police said more than 1,000 of the deactivated weapons were sold by a company called AFG, based in Partizanske, a provincial town 87 miles (140 km) north east of the Slovak capital Bratislava. The Slovak government tightened the law on how firearms are decommissioned to make it more difficult for them to be re-activated, six months after the Charlie Hebdo attacks. Frantisek Gajdos, the shop's owner, said in a BBC interview in 2016 that the legislation has decreased the sale of guns abroad "to zero" and there has been less interest in Slovakia too. The investigation into Shilling and his Swanley based criminal organisation - code named Operation Seventy - began in March 2015. He was no stranger to criminality, although on a massively different level - he was fined once for criminal damage and on an earlier occasion he received a caution for the same offence. In 2007, when Shilling was in his teens, his father Michael was sentenced to 12 years for dealing in stolen truck parts. The NCA's "armed operation unit" began investigating an organised criminal gang in Kent that they suspected had access to firearms. The gang had links to a number of street gangs in London - the kind of criminals who would be eager to pay cash to buy or hire firearms. Shilling wanted to expand his fledgling criminal empire by becoming the UK's top armourer. Harry Shilling had boasted that "we are now officially gangsters" after 22 assault rifles and nine Skorpion sub-machine guns from eastern Europe arrived up the River Medway to Cuxton Marina from Boulogne in France. Unbeknown to the criminal smuggling gang, the entire enterprise had been closely followed by the National Crime Agency and the Flying Squad. The Encrochat encrypted mobile phones used by the gang members to communicate with each other had been quietly compromised in an operation led by French Intelligence. It is also thought that the Slovakian Intelligence Service may well have tipped off Scotland Yard, although understandably this has never been confirmed or denied. The gang were arrested be members of the National Crime Agency and the Flying Squad as they unloaded the illegal firearms from the pleasure cruiser the MV Albermina at Cuxton Marina. Shilling, then aged 26, was sentenced along with Michael Defraine, 30, after both men were found guilty of gun smuggling and possessing firearms with intent to endanger life following a high-security trial at the Old Bailey in 2016. Shilling was told he must serve 30 years behind bars, plus five years on extended licence, while Defraine was given 27 years in jail, plus five years on extended licence. Describing Shilling as a "dangerous young man" who could have caused carnage on a "truly horrifying scale", Judge Michael Topolski QC said he had been motivated by a desire to "maintain, protect and expand" his drug business. "I'm entirely satisfied the truth is you were the man in charge of this carefully planned, well-funded and sophisticated organisation," he added. The rest of the gang - David Payne, 43; Richard Rye, 24; and Christopher Owen, 30; all of whom had already pleaded guilty - also received jail sentences for their role in the operation. Payne was sentenced to 19 years and six months in jail, including five years on extended licence; Rye was given 19 years and three months, including five years on extended licence; and Owen, who was caught with two bullets in his pocket, received five years and four months in prison for his lesser role. "It has been said that it cannot be exaggerated that guns kill and maim, terrorise and intimidate and that's why criminals want them," the judge said. "That is why they use them and that's why they organise their importation, supply and distribution. The firearms were genuine, fully automatic and in good condition. They were of high calibre. Some of the weapons were loaded and ready to be fired."

The end video this week is a short documentary about the Harry Shilling gang and their conspiracy to import illegal firearms into the UK, the international investigation into the crime, and the gang's subsequent capture and prosecution. Comments and feedback to me as usual at hugh.neal@gmail.com.