A nationwide survey is underway to increase the number of Turkish-style barbershops on the main streets, fearing that the facilities are being used by gangs for money laundering and other organized crime. The investigation was launched by the National Criminal Agency (NCA), whose officers have overseen dozens of attacks over the past month, according to the Sunday Times.
This reportedly resulted in many arrests and tens of thousands of pounds seized. An NCA spokesperson said the investigation involved a “major” police force of the HMRC and the Department of Home Affairs' immigration enforcement. Many barber shops are suspected of being used as a frontline for washing drug money and other criminal profits in addition to providing work to illegal immigrants.
The Sunday Times reports that in several attacks in northeastern England, tax inspectors are understood to have counted the number of salon chairs and secretly recorded the number of customers entering the store to see if the business tallyed with the profits it declared.
According to Retail Analytics Company's Green Street, the number of barbershops of all kinds across the UK has grown by more than 18,000, up more than 50% since 2018, with over 750 openings last year.
Most Turkish-style barbers are legal businesses, and cash was the only store that targeted this month's business, reported the Sunday Times.
The shop often describes itself as a “Turkish” barbershop, but it is reportedly run by Kurds and Albanians.
Offenders in both of these communities are linked to drugs and smuggling, the newspaper said in the report.
An NCA spokesman said:
“In recent years, intelligence, which links barbershop use and other cash-intensive businesses to money laundering and other criminality, has coordinated multi-agency law enforcement measures targeting barbershops where suspicious activities have been identified and can link to organized crime.
“This involves a large number of police forces across England and Wales, with other partners including the HMRC and the Department of Interior immigration enforcement.”