A Turkish barber shop owner has complained that his “100 percent legitimate” business is being harmed by a small number of similar shops serving as fronts for money laundering and gangsters.
Recent explosions at Turkish barbershops along Britain's high streets have increased by 50% in the past six years to around 19,000 shops, raising suspicions of organized criminal activity. .
And police say that in some cases, such suspicions are well-founded.
Amazingly, the Local Data Company reports that 665 'barbershops' opened across the UK last year, making it the fastest growing sector, but over the same period, more than 752 'barbershops' opened across the UK. Women's and unisex hair salons have closed, a shocking statistic. My head is perplexed.
Reza Jafari, 31, who runs Pasha in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, is fed up with people questioning the huge increase in the number of Turkish barbers, but wonders why so many have changed in the last five years. He admits that he cannot explain why he has had more teachers.
Reza, who is working with a business partner, hopes to soon buy out his shop, located near the spa town's main street, outright.
Police have warned that barbershops and nail salons in Turkey, along with car washes, are being used to “grease the wheels” and launder money for drug and smuggling syndicates.
But Jafari argued that the majority of barbershops were established to make money and serve the community.
Reza Jafari, 31, who runs Pasha in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, is tired of people questioning the huge increase in the number of Turkish barbers.
Pictured is the street in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, where Jafari's shop is located.
Pasha was founded eight years ago on Camden Road, near the center of Tunbridge Wells.
Mr. Jafari was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, but his family is originally from Uzbekistan. He has lived in England for 16 years.
“People would think that if you run a Turkish barbershop, you must be hiding something and have links to organized crime,” he said.
“But most of the time that's not true. We just want to make money and make a living like everyone else.
“But the bad few are harming the good. Those who exist solely to launder cash for criminals have a negative impact because they are seen by all of us in the same light.” Masu.
“I have been working as a barber since 2016 and have worked in this shop off and on over the years. For the past few weeks I have been working as co-owner and will hopefully close the business completely by the end of the year. I would like to acquire it.
“I have seen the books and the documents. This shop is registered with HMRC and Companies House. It is 100% authentic, otherwise I would not buy it.
“We know this type of business attracts criminals, and it’s easy to launder dirty cash.
“I took a few years off from cutting hair and joined a car wash in another part of Tunbridge Wells in 2022.
“We received a scene inspection from Kent Police. Four police officers showed up in plain clothes and pretended they wanted to wash the car, but they actually wanted to see the scene.
“One of them showed the warrant card to my manager, who then called me and told me to go immediately because the police were coming.
“When I arrived, I escorted the officers to the office, and one officer explained that the car wash was frequently used by Albanian and Romanian smuggling gangs, so he had made an unannounced visit. .
“I told the police to call their accountant and give them the HMRC number, and an hour later the police had carried out all the relevant inspections and said, ‘This is the cleanest car wash we have ever looked into. '
“I am completely honest in business and always make sure everything is in order.
Mr. Jafari was born and raised in Tehran, Iran, but his family is originally from Uzbekistan. He has lived in England for 16 years
His shop Pasha was established on Camden Road eight years ago
“But I have lived in Tunbridge Wells since 2009.
“I can't say why that is. I think local councils need to explain why they keep giving permits to all these similar businesses. I'm sure there's a demand for it.
“In Turkey, men go to the barber not only to get their hair cut, but also to talk, socialize and solve their problems. We build a lot of trust with our customers.
“We are doing well. Trading is slow at the beginning of the week, but it picks up and gets busy by the end of the week.
“And we accept bank cards as well as cash, which can be a red flag.”
From big cities to small towns, the growth of barbershops is nothing short of staggering, as figures from the Local Data Company show.
Over the past decade, the average number of barbers per 10,000 people has more than doubled, from 1.4 barbers per 10,000 to 3.1 by 2023.
And in parts of London and northern cities, the increase is even more dramatic, with 19 local authorities expected to have more than four barbershops per 10,000 people by 2023.
The question is: how many of these stores are legitimate businesses, and how many are just fronts for organized crime groups to launder money?
From big cities to small towns, the growth of barbershops has been nothing short of phenomenal. The photo is Mr. Jafari's store “Pasha”
Barbershops have also become an election issue, with former Reform UK leader Richard Tice posting in May: “Have you seen the increasing number of barbershops everywhere? Many of them are fronts for money laundering. Only Reform UK will investigate this and shut them down.”
Ali Hassan Ali, a former Metropolitan Police Department police officer, sees a similar trend. “Since the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a boom in barbershop openings,” he said in an email. “Many of these have thousands of pounds worth of equipment but no customers.
“While in many cases these stores are involved in legitimate business, there is strong reason to believe that some stores, particularly those run by Turks and Albanians, are connected to organized crime. This could be smuggling of people or drugs. ”
“We know that Calais smuggling gangs have traditionally been run by Kurds, but are now collaborating with Albanians.”
He added: “The proliferation of barbershops is truly worrying because they contribute to the funding of human trafficking and the misery it causes.” .
The Kurdish and Albanian gangs that tend to control the Strait boat “business” are said to, in some cases, pose as genuine Turkish barbers.
Britain's FBI, the National Crime Agency (NCA), first drew attention to the more dubious activities of the Barbers in 2022 with the arrest of the central figure in Channel's massive human smuggling ring.
Hewa Rahimpour, 30, and a group of fellow Iranian Kurds were arrested on suspicion of bringing 10,000 migrants to Dover from the French coast in small boats.
Rahimpour, who entered the UK illegally and was granted asylum after claiming he had suffered “political oppression” in his home country, was stopped by police as he drove a top-of-the-range Mercedes.
Hewa Rahimpour, 30, leader of a smuggling ring that transported 10,000 migrants to Britain in small boats.
Hewa Rahimpour was captured in an NCA operation in Wanstead Park, east London.
In the second high-profile trial of the year, 33-year-old Albanian Gul Wali Jabarker was charged with using his barbershop in Colindale, north London, as a base for a smuggling racket.
Rahimpour, a former barber, went into the hairstyling business in Camden, north London, a few years ago because his gang had made off with £13m in cash at the crossroads and needed to clean it up somehow.
He was extradited from the UK to stand trial in Belgium last year and is currently serving an 11-year sentence for human trafficking.
The second high-profile trial of the year saw 33-year-old Albanian Gul Wali Jabalker use his barbershop in Colindale, north London, as a smuggling base and recruit truck drivers. He was charged with attempted smuggling. Migrants hide in cargo and head to Britain.
Jabalkhel fled to Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2020 after realizing he was being watched by police. A year later, two of his colleagues at London Gateway Services were arrested after handing over £7,500 in trade proceeds, hiring one of the same truck drivers he used to smuggle migrants to Britain. This happened when I was about to go back. He was arrested for possessing an M1 and charged with money laundering.
Both men claimed the money was for hairdressing supplies, but authorities knew this was false because they monitored their cellphones and text messages.
Mr Jabalkhel was found guilty along with three others after a trial at Kingston Crown Court for his role in what the NCA described as “a ruthless operation at a time when humans were nothing more than objects to be profited from”.
Money laundering salons have also been linked to terrorism. Tarek Namouz, owner of West London sniper Boss Crew Barbers, was charged with sending £11,000 to Syria last year to “purchase arms and explosives” to be used against Assad's government forces. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison.
The barber, who lived above a salon in Hammersmith, told a prison visitor that while he was awaiting trial on remand, he actually transferred £25,000 to Islamic State supporters he had financed. I was proud that I was able to do it.
Detective Superintendent Charlotte Tucker of Wiltshire Police, a national expert on the proliferation of fake barbershops, recently said: 'Shops offering haircuts at really low prices can be a red flag that they are run by a criminal organization. There is,” he said. Everyone loves a bargain, and if it's too good to be true, it probably is. ”