Met Police takes number of arrests to 1,000+ in latest licensing crackdown
The Metropolitan Police has made 297 arrests in the latest stage of its crackdown on licensing issues, Operation Condor.
The Met also said it had seized 61 vehicles and “substantial” amounts of alcohol and tobacco.
This latest round of Operation Condor, which brings the number of arrests so far to more than 1,000, took place from 8 am on Friday to 8 am on Sunday and involved more than 4,000 officers.
One raid, on a large nightclub in east London, was conducted by 175 officers and saw nine arrests.
The Met Police said 22 venues had been closed as a result of the operation, including pubs, saunas and massage parlours.
The arrests included 38 people for theft, 20 for public order offences and 42 for possessing Class A or Class B drugs.
As part of the operation the Met Police:
- deployed volunteer police cadets to conduct test purchase operations at off licenses and shops;
- carried out sex worker card patrols and visits to brothels and massage parlours;
- conducted plain clothes operations to target unlicensed mini cab firms and taxi touts; and
- enforced no drinking zones and passive drug dog operations around key transport hubs.
Partner agencies involved in Operation Condor included Transport for London, local authorities, Trading Standards, the UK Border Agency and HM Revenue and Customs.
Met Police Commander Mak Chishty, lead for the operation, said: "Licensing impacts upon everyday community life - in our shops and supermarkets this means people do not sell knives, harmful substances or alcohol to young people; in our pubs and clubs it means that alcohol is sold and consumed in a responsible way, on our roads it means that vehicles such as taxis are properly licensed and safe.
"These are just some examples of how licensing affects all of our daily activities, and we will continue to commit resources to this and work extremely hard with our partners to tackle these areas in the future."
The first Operation Condor, in February 2012, led to 420 arrests and 4,896 licensed premises being visited, with 658 breaches identified.
The second – at the end of June 2012 – saw 320 arrests, 5,487 licensed premises visited and 829 offences reported or processed.