Inspectors estimate that a third of American candy stores and one in four fast food takeaways in specific areas are suspected of being a front for criminal activity.
A hotspot map in the group’s Hidden In Plain Sight report found where organised crime on the high street is widespread and identified two “corridors of crime”.
One stretches from Liverpool on the west coast to Hull and Grimsby on the east coast; and the other covers south coast towns across Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex.
While hotspots are common in more populated areas, some can also be found in less obvious locations such as Great Yarmouth which may be linked to the tourist trade.
A survey found 97% of Trading Standards officers are aware of suspected organised crime groups (OCGs) operating out of shops on their local high streets.
In an “almost universal recognition”, 99% of officers told of an increase in the number of cash-intensive businesses opening on their local high streets since 2020....<<<Read More>>>...
