Londonist eye witnesses were alarmed yesterday when their quiet lunchtime pint in Camden (alright for some, eh?) was disrupted by "more than 30 police vans and unmarked police cars driving past with their lights flashing. It was quite surreal."
Turns out the Met were on their way to an all out rout of Blackstock Road. An incredible 600 officers in riot gear targetted 19 premises on the busy shopping street near Finsbury Park, apparently recovering "more than 350 stolen items including 120 laptops, 110 cameras, 32 iPods, 20 sat-navs and 47 fake passports and driving licences" and arresting "middle-tier criminals" involved in drug dealing and money laundering in this "hotbed" of crime.
Riot gear! Bet that was a shock. Watch the video here. It's pretty impressive.
The raids were the climax of a year long operation aimed at wiping the slate clean in the area and, no doubt, scaring the baggy pants off many wannabe gangstas. Around 70 individuals were arrested but only one Londonista's lunchtime was disturbed.
Image courtesy of Edz's Flickrstream.
