Rotherham raid in £50m benefits fraud investigation

The warrant executed in Rotherham was done as investigators went into action at a series of there addresses in Sheffield.

South Yorkshire Police said the aim was to crack down on what they describe as “alleged high level benefit fraud carried out by organised criminal gangs”.

The Sheffield raids were all in the north-east of the city.

The DWP is responsible for investigating benefit fraud, and police assisted the agency in making arrests.

Intelligence gathered over a lengthy investigation by DWP suggested that the individuals targeted by the warrants were involved in an operation which defrauded the taxpayer of around £50 million.

Six men and one woman were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit, money laundering offences, and making or supplying articles for use in fraud.

The DWP will continue to progress the investigation following the action.

Insp Alec Gibbons said: “We often work alongside partners in key operations, sharing skillsets so that we can best tackle organised crime.

“Benefit fraud costs the UK billions of pounds nationally each year. It is not a low-level crime, in some cases criminal gangs run massive operations to defraud the government of millions of pounds.

“I am glad that we have been able to support the DWP on their investigation, and I hope that this sends a message to those intending to commit fraud in our communities, that this will not be tolerated.”

Minister for Transformation, Andrew Western, said: “I am immensely proud of DWP investigators’ work, in collaboration with South Yorkshire Police Service, in fighting organised crime in the benefits system.

“These arrests are a culmination of months of hard work and demonstrate our commitment to protecting public funds and the integrity of our welfare system.

“We will continue to work closely with law enforcement agencies to hold accountable those who exploit the system, safeguarding support for those who genuinely need it,” he said.

The work was done under the Operation Duxford system, where resources from various elements of the police service are mobilised for large, focused, operations.