TWO men from Thurrock were among five arrested in a police operation targeting a nationwide conspiracy with international links to steal from charity clothing banks.

The operation saw 12 addresses in Basildon, Thurrock and the capital targeted earlier today (Tuesday 16 December) for their connection to the scheme and a Lithuanian organised crime group.

A police Proactive Money Laundering Team (PMLT) believe the group orchestrating these thefts are taking the clothes – which the public have donated to charities like the Salvation Army, British Heart Foundation and the Firefighters' Charity – and selling them abroad to finance other crimes or launder money to disguise their offending.

They are often taken from charity bins in town and city centres, where offenders are able to gain access or force entry to the containers and take a large quantity of clothes at once.

One of the thieves stealing from a charity connection point.

The warrants were carried out by specialists across the force, including the Serious Crime Directorate, Operational Support Group and Dog Unit.

The five men – including a 38-year-old from South Ockendon and a 30-year-old from Purfleet – were arrested with two others from Dagenham and a Pitsea man.

Police also seized multiple mobile phones and several large quantities of cash, including £10,000 from a vehicle and a further large unconfirmed amount over £10,000 from a property's bedroom – both believed to be connected to criminality.

Detective Sergeant Mike Monkton of the PMLT said: "The scale of these thefts is huge – criminals are taking tonnes and tonnes of clothing from sites nationwide that was 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.

"These warrants all taking place simultaneously this morning is a huge disruption to the operations and will ultimately help us take criminal property off our streets, crime out of our neighbourhoods and send a clear message to anyone committing these offences in our county that there will be consequences."