£35m Seized During Deposit Box Raids

Around £35 million has been seized by police during an operation targeting safety deposit boxes used by criminal gangs.

Metropolitan Police officers also seized guns, child pornography, drugs and even illegal elephant tusks when the 3,500 deposit boxes at three London centres were raided.

During Operation Rize - the first of its kind targeting criminals who use this type of storage – around 40 people were also arrested, which police said had made an impact on criminal gangs nationally and globally.

"I think it has had a dramatic impact," said Det Ch Insp Mark Ponting.

"Some of the organised criminal networks that placed their funds in the premises never expected to have them recovered by the police.

"It has had an impact globally, there's no doubt about that."

A total of 700 box holders are in the process of being referred to HMRC for suspected tax evasion and the sums involved are in excess of £15 million.

Of the money held, £20m has been detained through the courts and £15m referred to Customs and Revenue officers.

More than 60 officers are working full-time on the inquiry, expected to cost more than £1m.

Many were being used to store undisclosed income and we have even discovered a significant number of individuals who have never paid tax in their lives who are now being investigated. There are also a number of box holders who have asked for their monies to be paid directly to HMRC to cover unpaid tax. This totals over £3.2 million to date.

Also there are currently 11 people who have to date been charged in relation to Operation Rize, and there are a number of arrests and criminal proceedings.

Police have made arrests in relation to money laundering, paedophilia, concealing criminal property, benefit fraud, burglary, drug supply, possession of firearms, fraud and for the importation of illegal elephant tusks.

(JM/BMcC)