Kent Police Shut Down 14 Maidstone Businesses in Six-Month Crackdown on Organised Crime

Neighbourhood officers in Maidstone have been ramping up efforts to disrupt organised criminal activity in the town centre, carrying out a series of warrants on businesses suspected of illegal activity, including selling illicit tobacco and counterfeit goods.

Over the past six months, the operation - run with support from partners including Trading Standards - has resulted in 13 businesses being closed down or evicted from their premises, according to Kent Police's own figures, with nine people arrested in connection with the work.

During the warrants, officers found and seized a large quantity of illicit tobacco, cocaine, cannabis, cash and drug paraphernalia. Some of the items were tucked away in secret hides or stored away from the business premises in an attempt to hide the activity, with some cigarettes allegedly being sold out of vehicles in town-centre car parks.

Beat officer PC Tom Cunningham said: "We've been looking into shops in the town centre and building intelligence to identify the businesses that are linked to organised criminal groups and selling illicit and counterfeit goods. These products put members of the community at risk, and we are being proactive in finding these items and removing them from our town centre and holding those responsible to account."

"As we've carried out our enforcement, these businesses have been adapting to try and evade us, however, we've carried on adapting ourselves and as a result we've shut down or evicted 14 businesses and arrested several people," he added - a figure one higher than stated elsewhere in the force's own release. "This sends a clear message to those involved that we will continue to find businesses who are ignoring the law and close them down to keep Maidstone safe." Source: Kent Police