Some of the items seized in last week’s action
Haringey Council teamed up with the police and HMRC to carry out visits, patrols and operations designed to clean up and make the ward safer last week.
Enforcement officers visited stores in Wood Green High Road to check that their electricity supply was safe and legal.
Two shops were found to be stealing electricity from other premises and one – a food store – agreed to close down until a legal supply of electricity is installed. One man was arrested for theft of electricity.
Officers also cracked down on illegal street trading and littering in the High Road, issuing several fixed penalty notices against people who were selling goods without a permit, as well as businesses and residents who were dumping rubbish and littering.
Elsewhere, Trading Standards worked in partnership with Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and visited a number of stores in the ward, as well as elsewhere in the borough, to check for illicit and counterfeit alcohol and tobacco.
They seized a total of 3,860 cigarettes, 4.55kg of hand rolling tobacco and 77 bottles of wine where duty had not been paid.
The week of action is just one of several operations launched by the council and police in the run-up to Christmas, to keep the borough safe and clean for the festive season and beyond.
The borough’s food safety officers also give out food preparation advice for businesses expecting large Christmas parties, as well as carrying out routine inspections of venues.
Haringey Council Cabinet Member for environment Cllr Stuart McNamara said:
“By pooling resources and working with other agencies we can get a huge amount done to keep our residents safe and improve the look and feel of our streets.
We are committed to taking more action like this and, through weeks of action and other schemes such as Operation Clean Streets, we will ensure that Haringey is a safe and clean borough that people feel proud to live in.”