army of police raids "little algiers " in london
HUNDREDS of police swooped on a busy street to shut down a notorious "one-stop shop" for crime.
They sealed off a stretch of the road in an unprecedented blanket raid. They believe at least 19 cafés and other businesses owned by algerians mafia in Blackstock Road the one they call "little algiers" at Fansbury park on the borders of the London boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney, are being used by criminals. Months of surveillance revealed evidence of drug dealing, money laundering, the sale of stolen goods and a thriving trade in fake documents. One national telephone company said 40 per cent of all stolen handsets go on to be used in the area.
The move, involving some 600 officers, was the second phase in a day of raids targeting loosely-connected criminal networks.
A further 500 officers led co-ordinated dawn raids at 37 addresses across London earlier yesterday. They made 35 arrests, including 21 individuals who had been identified as key players in the illegal industry.
Police said many of those held were of Algerian origin.
They sealed off a stretch of the road in an unprecedented blanket raid. They believe at least 19 cafés and other businesses owned by algerians mafia in Blackstock Road the one they call "little algiers" at Fansbury park on the borders of the London boroughs of Islington, Haringey and Hackney, are being used by criminals. Months of surveillance revealed evidence of drug dealing, money laundering, the sale of stolen goods and a thriving trade in fake documents. One national telephone company said 40 per cent of all stolen handsets go on to be used in the area.
The move, involving some 600 officers, was the second phase in a day of raids targeting loosely-connected criminal networks.
A further 500 officers led co-ordinated dawn raids at 37 addresses across London earlier yesterday. They made 35 arrests, including 21 individuals who had been identified as key players in the illegal industry.
Police said many of those held were of Algerian origin.