Licensing crackdown on London venues leads to 297 arrests
Over 4,000 officers were involved in Operation Condor which was run to combat those who flout licensing rules.
A total of 5,830 licensed premises were visited, and 1,046 offences reported or disclosed during the course of the operation.
One of the largest individual operations led to the closure of nightclub 92 Feet East, in Brick Lane, with police arresting five people on suspicion of possessing Class A drugs, and one on suspicion of being an illegal immigrant.
Two people were also arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs, one for being drunk and disorderly, and one for being the owner/occupier of premises being concerned in the supply of drugs. All these people are now in custody at a central London police station.
There were 22 closures in total including pubs, sauna and massage parlours, with 297 people arrested for various offences including: 38 for theft, 20 for public order offences, 20 for possessing Class A drugs, 22 for possessing Class B drugs, 26 for possession with intent to supply, 7 for possessing offensive weapons, 18 for drunkenness, and 52 for immigration offences.
Commander Mak Chishty, who lead for the operation for the MPS, said: “Yet again we have seen Operation Condor bring in excellent results from our concerted efforts involving thousands of officers being deployed all over London over the past two days.
“Licensing impacts upon everyday community life - in our shops and supermarkets this means people do not sell knives, harmful substances or alcohol to young people; in our pubs and clubs it means that alcohol is sold and consumed in a responsible way, on our roads it means that vehicles, such as taxis are properly licensed and safe.
“These are just some examples of how licensing affects all of our daily activities, and we will continue to commit resources to this and work extremely hard with our partners to tackle these areas in the future.”
The first Operation Condor at the start of February 2012 resulted in 420 arrests and 4,896 licensed premises being visited, with 658 breaches identified. The second Condor at the end of June 2012, saw 320 arrests, 5,487 licensed premises visited and 829 offences reported or processed.
