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Police arrest 452 and seize over £600,000 as immigration crime crackdown intensifies

Officers visited 33 businesses across Wiltshire and engaged with 262 individuals, seizing £46,605 in cash alongside a kilogram of cannabis during the crackdown.
Officers visited 33 businesses across Wiltshire and engaged with 262 individuals, seizing £46,605 in cash alongside a kilogram of cannabis during the crackdown.
A lock on the Warminster waterway. Officers also deployed new motion detection equipment inside lorries to find concealed people during the operation.
A lock on the Warminster waterway. Officers also deployed new motion detection equipment inside lorries to find concealed people during the operation.

Car washes, nail salons, restaurants and vape shops were raided across Wiltshire as Operation Lockstream ran from 21 September to 5 October 2026, with 18 people held and £46,605 seized alongside cocaine, cannabis and 10,000 cigarettes. On the M4 and A419, officers deployed motion detectors able to 'detect even the slightest sounds or vibrations' to find stowaways, stopping 128 vehicles and making 13 immigration arrests.

Nationally, officers seized 22 weapons, 57 mobile phones, 40kg of cannabis and 491 vehicles.

Two-thirds of arrests nationally were for immigration offences, with over 900 fines totalling more than £141,000.

Philip Wilkinson, Wiltshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, says public tip-offs are 'vital' to identifying victims and disrupting offenders.

MoreSalisbury JournalPolice arrest 18 and seize drugs and cash in Wiltshire immigration crime crackdown - Salisbury Journal
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