OPERATION Henhouse nets over 500 arrests in UK fraud crackdown, with the latest iteration led by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and City of London Police, according to the NCA. Police arrested over 500 suspects and moved to seize and freeze millions connected to suspected fraud, with this year’s operation described as the strongest yet in the fight against offline and digital fraud.
The results include 557 arrests, 172 voluntary interviews and 249 cease-and-desist notices, plus account freezing orders totalling £9m ($12m) and seizures of cash and assets worth £18.1m ($24.3m). Detective superintendent Oliver Little of the City of London Police’s Lead Force Operations Room called the year’s efforts “a landmark moment” in the battle against fraud.
The operation saw participation from every UK police force and Regional Organised Crime Unit, alongside the Serious Fraud Office, NCA, National Trading Standards and the Financial Conduct Authority. Among the wins were eight arrests by the City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit, the arrest of a 26-year-old man in South London on suspicion of selling fraudulent products online, and the identification of six abroad-based fraud call centres blocking 6.5 million calls, saving an estimated £2.1m.