The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) announced that five people across the north west of England and London were arrested on 23 February as part of an alleged property investment fraud.
The scheme saw would-be investors approached to purchase apartments off-plan with offers of high guaranteed rental income.
The projects were never completed resulting in up to 100 investors losing nearly £8m ($9.9m, €9.1m). The NCA did not state what happened following the arrests.
The arrests were part of Operation Henhouse, which funded by the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC) – part of the NCA.
The operation was the result of the collaboration of multiple police forces in the UK, consisting of 43 forces and eight regional organised crime units (ROCUs) – including the City of London Police.
Across the UK, Operation Henhouse saw in total 290 arrests made across different types of fraud offences, which included romance fraud, banking and insurance fraud, as well as money laundering and perverting the course of justice. The operation also saw in excess of £6.2m in assets seized, which included high-value jewellery and watches, cryptocurrency, cash, gold and luxury sports cars.
This was the second iteration of Operation Henhouse with plans to repeat it later this year.
‘Protect the public from the scourge of fraud’
Adrian Searle, director of the NECC, said: “Fraud accounts for more than 40% of all reported crime. Henhouse is a good example of what can be achieved when the NCA and partners in policing and wider law enforcement come together to target the fraudsters.”
Nik Adams, commander at the City of London Police, added: “Operation Henhouse was the culmination of months of hard work. As the national lead police force for fraud, we coordinated policing activity by working with regional forces and specialist economic crime units, which was then replicated across other partners under the leadership of the NECC and NCA.
“It’s through activity like Operation Henhouse, as well as ongoing collaboration with other law enforcement agencies and the private sector, that we are able to make significant inroads into tackling organised crime activity and protect the public from the scourge of fraud.
“We will look to build on the success of Operation Henhouse over the next 12 months, so momentum in disrupting fraudulent activity continues.”
