COPS SWOOP IN £4.6M BENEFITS SCAM GANG RAID
Day-long operation takes aim at fake claimants network
A MAJOR crackdown was yesterday launched on organised criminal gangs who scam benefits on an “industrial scale”.
Operation Arnos targeted gangs working in Glasgow’s Govanhill area who are believed to be responsible for defrauding up to £4.6million of benefits.
The offensive was the largest multi-agency operation of its kind since Police Scotland became a national force in 2013.
It is believed the gangs recruited a network of scammers who were given packs of false documents and fake identities for illegal claims.
The gang creamed off the lion’s share of the benefits and potentially provided up to half a dozen fake identities for each scammer.
The day of action was the result of a year-long investigation, revealed Assistant Chief Constable Gillian MacDonald, head of the force’s Crime and Protection unit.
She said: “We have been investigating for some time now what we believe to be an orchestrated attack on the UK benefits system on an industrial scale.
“It has been sophisticated in its nature. People have put a lot of thought into the planning to develop false documents that stand up to scrutiny.”
A team of more than 100 from Police Scotland, the Department for Work and Pensions and Home Office Immigration raided 37 properties.
They also seized more than 200 items, including documentation and electronic devices, from a business in Govanhill.
Fourteen of the 16 people arrested in the raids were suspected of offences ranging from benefit fraud, mortgage fraud, money laundering and involvement in organised crime.
A cannabis cultivation found during the raids consisted of several hundred plants with a potential street value of £200,000.
ACC MacDonald said: “Today’s operation is one of the largest of its kind.
“This gang has been operating in and around Govanhill using local premises and a mobile office to carry out a variety of crimes, which are undoubtedly impacting on the community.
“People have been claiming benefits to which they are not entitled and using false IDs.
“This activity has been orchestrated by individuals who are reaping millions of pounds from the benefits system while also claiming themselves.
“We have taken and are taking every opportunity to identify and disrupt further criminality and to put a stop to it.”
A range of nationalities were said to be involved in the multimillion pound scam, including eastern Europeans and Scots.
The operation was in two phases, the first targeting gang leaders and the second, the foot soldiers they recruited.
Translators aided officers and the police’s human trafficking unit were on stand-by.
ACC MacDonald said it was wrong to think of benefit fraud as a victimless crime.
She added: “The scale of this benefit fraud is more than £4million. That has a huge impact on the benefits system.
“It is impacting on the taxpayer who contributes out of their income every month.
“It is not fair that this money, which would otherwise be used for public service, is being used in this way.”
It is not fair that this money is being used in this way ACC MacDONALD