Shoreditch dawn raid uncovers £100,000 as woman in her 70s arrested for money laundering

A woman in her 70s, believed to be linked to a multi-million pound criminal business, was arrested for money laundering and £100,000 cash was seized, as police raided her Shoreditch home at dawn this morning.

The woman from Sylvia Court on the Wenlock Barn Estate in Cavendish Street, was arrested in Operation Octopod along with six others from London, Kent, Surrey and East Sussex who are all suspected of being part of one of the UK’s oldest and most high profile organised crime gangs.

The group, which include a trained accountant-turned-property developer and a solicitor, are believed to have laundered large sums of money through an investment scheme, and police claim some have known links to violence and other serious crime.

About 50 officers and specialist financial investigators from the London regional asset recovery team, the Territorial Support Group, the dog unit, local police teams and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs carried out the raids at 6.30am this morning.

A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) production order was also served on an accountant’s office, and financial documents, computers and mobile phones have already been seized for forensic examination.

In February 15 criminals suspected of being part of the same gang were arrested in a swoop, after officers painstakingly gathered evidence of conspiracy to assault, money laundering, fraud and revenue offences.

Det Ch Supt Tom Manson of the MPS Specialist, Organised and Economic Crime Command, believes the seven arrested today are laundering huge quantities of cash.

“We believe that they - with other members of the group - are responsible for a multi-million pound criminal business, the proceeds of which are laundered and either pumped into other illegal money-making schemes or spent on luxurious living,” he said.

“The group as a whole is known to be involved in serious and violent crime which is harming people and damaging communities across London.

“This is continuing activity, bringing together some of the Met’s most skillful teams to target a highly harmful organised crime group which we believe also has links across Britain and Europe.

The others arrested this morning include a man believed to be in his 40s, from Windermere Avenue, Finchley, was arrested for money laundering and cheating the public revenue, a woman believed to be in her 40s, also from Finchley, for money laundering, a man believed to be in his 60s, from Shirehall Lane, Hendon, for money laundering, a woman believed to be in her 30s, from Alexander Road, Dartford, for money laundering, a man believed to be in his 30s, from Fairmount Avenue, Limehouse, for money laundering and theft, and a man believed to be in his 50s, from Hill View, Dorking, for money laundering.