Clamping down on businesses who are breaking the law

Partners from a wide range of agencies have been working together to uncover illegal activities being carried out by local businesses.

They visited a variety of retail outlets in Bury including takeaways, off licences and corner shops, and more than a third of visits resulted in illegal activity being discovered.

Offences included eight food businesses illegally abstracting electricity, resulting in immediate temporary closure of the premises; the seizure of £10,000 of suspected counterfeit make-up; breaches of fire safety regulations; and tax avoidance.

The names of the premises are not being disclosed at the moment due to ongoing investigations and possible legal action.

The work was carried out by teams from Bury Council, Greater Manchester Police, the Department for Work and Pensions, Immigration, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, and Electricity North West.

Angela Lomax, Bury’s head of trading standards and licensing, said: “This shows the range of illegal activity that can be discovered when partners work together and share intelligence to combat crime.”

Inspector Rob Findlow of Greater Manchester Police said: “Let this multi-agency response send a clear message to those who undermine the quality of life for law-abiding residents and businesses that we will continue to work with our partners to keep Bury a safe environment for people to work and live in.”

ENDS

Press release issued: 22 November 2017.