London, April 26 (IANS) UK Home Secretary Priti Patel has warned criminals seeking to “exploit and capitalise” on the coronavirus crisis, adding that “we are on to you”.
In a Downing Street briefing on Saturday, the Home Secretary said that although there had been a drop in overall crime, “these unprecedented times” had given rise to an increase in more “sophisticated” offending, the Metro newspaper reported.
Losses from COVID-19 related scams, such as phishing emails from fraudsters posing as genuine organisations to plunder sensitive information or websites selling bogus PPE, now stands at 2.4 million pounds.
However, Patel said that law enforcement “is also adapting and they are onto you… Their efforts are paying off”.
Patel said Border Force officers, the National Crime Agency (NCA) and police had all been working to smash international drug rings, bring child sex predators to justice and thwart motorists seeking to take advantage of empty stretches of highway.
She revealed 1 million pounds worth of cocaine hidden in boxes of face masks set to be smuggled into the UK through the Channel Tunnel was discovered last week.
The NCA also helped seize 700 kg worth of heroin in Pakistan which was “potentially bound for the UK”.
It has also been working to shut down websites seeking to rip-off customers by offering fake personal protective equipment, said the Metro newspaper report.
The police have also been alerted to a staggering 1,300 “potential child sexual abuse cases” during the pandemic.
“This is a sickening reminder of the frightening activity that is targeted towards our children every single day,” Patel was quoted as saying in the newspaper report.
India Tribune, as an English weekly newspaper, was launched in 1977 in Chicago by its publisher Prashant Shah with a lofty ideal to serve the Asian Indian community in the USA. Over the years, it has grown with all vigor, and now it is being published in three editions – Chicago, New York and Atlanta. India Tribune, a journal of its kind for the family in the USA, has been a household name for many Indians for over three decades with each issue commanding a readership of over 125,000.
