More than £110,000 in suspected criminal cash, a large quantity of gold and 16 illegal betting terminals have been seized during a major crackdown on suspected illegal gambling and money laundering in South Yorkshire. South Yorkshire Police carried out a series of warrants across Sheffield and Doncaster on Tuesday, August 4, and Wednesday, August 5, alongside partner agencies including the Gambling Commission. Officers targeted venues on London Road in Sheffield and Silver Street in Doncaster, where 16 suspected illegal betting terminals were discovered. Large quantities of cash believed to total more than £110,000 were also recovered alongside gold bars, coins and jewellery.
Three arrested during gambling raids
Three people were arrested on suspicion of offences relating to immigration, possession of a bladed article and gambling. The enforcement formed part of Operation Duxford and Operation Snaresbrook, targeting suspected criminal activity across the region. Further warrants were executed in Sheffield on Wednesday morning as officers widened the operation. At an address in Norton Avenue, police seized three motorbikes which are all suspected of being stolen.
Counterfeit tobacco and cannabis farm discovered
Officers also searched an address in Glover Road, where more than 2,200 packets of suspected counterfeit tobacco were discovered. Police estimated the tobacco to have a value of approximately £11,000. Another warrant at a property in Chesterfield Road uncovered a cannabis cultivation containing 279 mature and sapling plants. Four further arrests were made during Wednesday’s enforcement activity.
‘This is not a one-off’
Inspector Amy Mellor, from Sheffield’s South West Neighbourhood Policing Team, said the operation followed weeks of planning between police and partner organisations. She said: “This coordinated activity is a true example of partnership working at its best. “Weeks of planning alongside colleagues has allowed us to develop intelligence and crack down on the harmful trade of illegal gambling, which we know can fund other activity linked to organised crime. “But we’ve also cast a much wider net to focus on the issues that we know matter most to our communities. “This is not a ‘one-off’, and work to progress investigations and home in on similar offending in our communities will continue.” Investigations into the items seized and suspected offences remain ongoing.
