Some businesses on high streets across the UK have been left feeling intimidated by gangs loitering outside dodgy vape shops and fake Turkish barbers. According to Melanie Onn, Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, many businesses are feeling threatened and undermined by illegitimate firms which allegedly “fuel organised crime” and “exploit workers”.
Some of these businesses are cash only which raised concerns about tax avoidance and money laundering. There are also worries that some staff work for little or no pay. Ms Onn recently joined Humberside Police and Trading Standards on a patrol around her local constituency, where one hairdresser said she no longer feels part of the community as she has been “squeezed out by the gangs loitering outside these shops.”
The UK high street is experiencing high rates of closures, with shops constantly changing hands. Latest data from The Conversation shows that 15% of shop sites across the nation are vacant as of August 2025.
During her report on the Labour List, Ms Onn said that during one raid during her recent visit, one premises was linked to eight different names within just two years. She added that staff denied responsibility for the shop, claiming they were “just looking after it for a friend”.
Ms Onn said: “Despite confiscations, Trading Standards simply do not have the resources to keep pace. The money involved is huge.
“In one shop, a ledger showed daily takings of around £900, mostly from vape sales. Multiply that across 40 or 50 shops locally and the figures suggest profits that are scarcely believable, around £40,500.”
She continued: “And if they’re open 7 days a week, that’s £283,500 potentially being made. If this were the case, I am convinced our local economy would be booming, business rates climbing and the general feel and look of the area would be vastly different to how it currently is.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage previously called out dodgy barbers shops in the UK. In an interview with LBC, the Clacton MP said: “Anywhere you go, really, any market town in the country, you’ll find half a dozen barbershops.
“You know the drill. You go in, no customers, cash only, Lamborghini out the back. And it’s been going on for years.”
He continued: “We know, of course, they’re not Turkish anyway, they’re Iraqi or Iranian or Kurdish. In fact, there’s probably half a dozen crossing the channel right now that’ll be in one of the shops next week.
“It’s money laundering. It’s a way of funnelling large amounts of cash through, declaring some of it to the tax man. And that’s what the racket is. And of course, the cash, you know, the drugs trade is all cash.”
The National Crime Agency (NCA) previously targeted 265 shops and salons across England. The operation, which involved 19 different police forces and regional organised crime units, led to the shut down of 10 businesses, 35 arrests and 97 individuals suspected to be victims of modern slavery placed under police protection.
Officers also seized over £40,000 in cash, some 200,000 cigarettes, 7,000 packs of tobacco, and more than 8,000 illegal vapes. Two cannabis farms, containing 150 plants, were also discovered.
Ms Onn claims that the shop owners hide illegal goods in “false ceilings or adjoining flats” in a coordinated network of crime. Even if they are raided and closed, they often “reopen within hours”.
The MP is now calling for “minimum seven-day closure orders” for any shop found selling illegal goods. Repeat offenders should also face “longer closure periods and tougher penalties”.
Ms Onn insists that such businesses are not surviving solely on limited vape sales. She is urging local authorities to “follow the money” to find out what is really happening and put an end to it.
She explained: “This should be treated for what it is: organised crime. That means stronger policing, more resources for Trading Standards, and coordination with other agencies.”
She added: “Councils, landlords, police and Trading Standards must work together to shut these shops down. Only then can legitimate businesses thrive and local families feel safe.”