Five arrested after raids at charity clothes banks

Five men have been arrested over a conspiracy to steal large amounts of outfits from charity clothes banks to sell abroad.

Essex Police said items donated by the public were being taken from containers to finance crime.

Addresses in Basildon and Thurrock and across London were raided on Tuesday in connection with the scheme and to a Lithuanian organised crime group.

The five men were all arrested on suspicion of theft and remained in custody, police confirmed.

They were a 46-year-old from Pitsea; a 38-year-old from South Ockendon; a 34-year-old and a 32-year-old from Dagenham, east London; and a 30-year-old from Purfleet.

Essex Police said suspects were targeting containers in town and city centres where they could take a large quantities of clothes in one hit.

It believed the group behind the spree were selling clothes abroad to "finance other crimes or launder money to disguise their offending".

Officers also seized multiple mobile phones and several large quantities of cash, including £10,000 from a vehicle.

The money was believed to be connected to criminality, police said.

Det Sgt Mike Monkton, of the force's proactive money laundering team, added: "The scale of these thefts is huge.

"Criminals are taking tonnes and tonnes of clothing from sites nationwide that were intended to help others or raise money for those in need.

"Instead, it was being used to line the pockets of criminals operating across Europe."

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