Seventeen people are being charged in connection with VAT fraud following the raid of 60 addresses in London, Manchester, and Glasgow on Tuesday.

The raids involved 400 customs officers backed up by 100 police officers.

All those charged are from Strathclyde. They have been charged under Scottish law and their cases passed to the Procurator Fiscal - Scotland's equivalent of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs refused to comment further due to Scottish law.

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