An £80,000 Porsche and a £70,000 BMW have been seized by Lancashire Police and the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit, following a national crackdown on fraud.

The National Crime Agency said that more than 400 people were arrested during the crackdown, which was coordinated by the National Economic Crime Centre and City of London Police.

The activity, which was the third iteration of the multi-agency Operation Henhouse, ran across February and March 2024 and resulted in:

  • 438 arrests
  • 211 voluntary interviews
  • 283 cease and desist notices
  • account freezing orders of £5.1m
  • seizures of cash and assets worth £13.9m

For the first time, the action involved all UK police forces, including Lancashire, and all Regional Organised Crime Units, alongside national agencies including the Financial Conduct Authority, National Crime Agency, Serious Fraud Office and National Trading Standards, with more than £600k of funding made available to support the work.

High value seizures included an £80,000 Porsche by Lancashire Police, a £70,000 BMW by the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit, and a £15,000 Rolex watch, alongside $33,200 (USD), £15,750 and a large quantity of high value designer clothing by the South-East Regional Organised Crime Unit.

Substantial law enforcement activity carried out by individual forces and agencies across the UK resulted in:

  • 27 arrests made by Norfolk Constabulary
  • 20 arrests made by Bedfordshire Police
  • Merseyside Police arrested 10 individuals, executed 12 search warrants, seized £548k in cash, and issued five account freezing orders amounting to £287k
  • In Warwickshire, seven arrests and 11 interviews were made in connection to cases where victims were defrauded out of a total of more than £450,000
  • The North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit made more than 90 disruptions
  • Essex Police froze £2m worth of assets and made 15 arrests
  • Kent police, in addition to providing call blockers to vulnerable people, arrested 20 suspects, seized more than £7,000 and froze accounts worth nearly £100,000.

Several National Crime Agency investigations, many of which involve its Complex Financial Crime Teams, remain ongoing.

Operation Henhouse also involves collaboration across force boundaries, and between a huge range of partners:

  • Police Scotland, supported by Greater Manchester Police and the North-West Regional Organised Crime Unit, arrested and charged two men in connection with a fraudulent banking scheme.
  • Cleveland Police, working in collaboration with the North-East Regional Crime Unit, raided multiple homes across their force area, arresting four individuals.
  • In late February, officers from Tarian Regional Organised Crime Unit, working in partnership with the Gambling Commission, HMRC and Cardiff City Council Licensing, executed six warrants across Cardiff, arresting two men on suspicion of money laundering and gambling act offences. Six poker tables, a spinning prize wheel, poker coins and chips, and multiple flat screen televisions were seized.

As part of the action, the National Crime Agency (NCA) worked closely to assist and bolster work led by partners.

This included support provided to the Serious Fraud Office on their investigation into Signature Group, a business that attracted over a thousand UK and international investors in the redevelopment of iconic landmarks.

It also included support to the South-West Regional Organised Crime Unit on an investigation into an organised crime group suspected of stealing nearly £8 million from victims.

The work led to eight arrests, as well as the seizure of £300k cash, a BMW and around 100 devices. The largest amount taken from a single victim was £4.1m.

The results represent a 52 per cent increase on last year’s arrest figures under Operation Henhouse, and demonstrate that through coordinated action, forces nationwide can tackle what is a complex and quickly evolving threat.

Adrian Searle, director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) in the NCA, said: “Henhouse is proof of what policing and wider law enforcement across the UK can achieve when we come together.

“The emotional harm that fraud causes is immense, and many of those targeted are faced with devastating and life changing losses.

“Fraud investigations take place all year round, but campaigns like Henhouse not only demonstrate how far we will go to pursue those who commit fraud, but also how successful we can be when we work closely with our partners across the country.

“This partnership also extends to working evermore closely with international counterparts and the private sector to target the fraud threat emanating from overseas, and fraud enabling technologies and infrastructure.

“This activity on a number of fronts will significantly impact the fraud threat.”

Fraud is currently the most common crime type reported in the Crime Survey of England and Wales. It accounts for approximately 40 per cent of all crime reports, and costs an estimated £6.8bn each year in England and Wales alone.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said: "Fraud destroys lives. Operations like Henhouse are absolutely vital to crack down on fraudsters and stop them profiteering off of our family, friends, and neighbours.

"The National Crime Agency and forces across the country have done a great job to seize criminal assets worth millions and make more than 400 arrests in a single month.

"Our approach is working. Fraud is already down 13 per cent in England and Wales. This government is determined to continue our efforts to bring fraudsters to justice and protect the public.”

The public can take steps to help protect themselves against fraud. Be sure to protect your online accounts from compromise by criminals:

  • Create strong, unique passwords for accounts
  • Always use 2-step verification if offered
  • Use your browser’s password manager to safely store passwords.

Criminals may pretend to be a trusted person or company. If something seems suspicious or unexpected, such as requests for money or personal information, contact the organisation directly to check. Use contact details from their official website, not those given in a message, email or phone call.

If you have fallen victim to fraud or cyber crime, report it any time at www.actionfraud.police.uk.

If you are a victim of fraud, report it to your bank so they can protect your account.

Visit stopthinkfraud.campaign.gov.uk for more information.