London's Met Police's Operation Stimtone cracks down on financial crime

LONDON'S METROPOLITAN POLICE SERVICE (MPS) put on a one-day operation in the UK capital today to battle financial crime facing businesses. Launched at 8am, the Met police's 'war on economic crime' includes 300 separate operations taking place in each one of London's 32 boroughs under what it is calling Operation Stimtone. "People who steal from businesses or their employers are on the MPS radar and can expect a visit from officers," the MPS warned in a statement this morning. "Economic crime costs businesses and the taxpayers of London tens of millions of pounds every year. Operation Stimtone is about taking the profit out of crime and letting criminals know that, together with partners, the MPS will pursue them to recover their criminal gains." At 10am, the Met police tweeted a photo of a yacht being lifted out of a river, announcing that the boat had been "seized, dry-docked and will be searched" as part of a money-laundering investigation. By 11am, the Met police said on its Twitter page that officers had seized over £146,000, 350 cannabis plants, 170 cocaine plants and two replica firearms resulting in 45 arrests. At 3:30pm, it said it had made a total of 112 arrests as a result of recovering counterfeit currency, chip and pin readers and stolen bank cards. Leader of the investigation Commander Allan Gibson said in the statement that the operation is meant to show communities that criminals who comfortably live off the proceeds of their crimes are being brought to justice. "We are determined to make sure crime does not pay but criminals do. Working together we are stronger and we can get the better of criminals," he added.