Man and woman arrested over £200,000 benefits scam during raids on London homes

Designer handbags were among the luxury goods found by officers investigating a £200,000 benefits scam during raids on two London homes. The pair were arrested at addresses in Ealing and Harrow on Wednesday. The suspects are accused of creating false companies to launder money and conceal income and assets while making false benefits claims.Metropolitan Police officers, supported by government investigators, executed warrants at the two addresses as part of Operation Sendara. A DWP spokesperson said: "Benefit fraud steals from taxpayers and takes money away from the people who genuinely need support.“These arrests demonstrate our determination to work closely with law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and stop those who seek to exploit the welfare system.“With the new powers we've secured, fraudsters should know our net is getting wider and we will catch them.” The two suspects were interviewed under caution.The DWP said it is ramping up efforts to bring down benefit fraud as part of Government plans to save £14.6 billion by 2031 with a crack down on fraud, errors and debts.A new Public Authorities Fraud, Error and Recovery (PAFER) Act enables direct deductions from bank accounts in persistent cases of non-payment. Four people were arrested in London and Berkshire earlier this year as part of an investigation into a gang that stole at least £3 million in benefits. Catherine Wieland, 33, went ziplining in Mexico while claiming she was too ill to leave the house, the DWP saidPARaids were carried out in February as part of Operation Mellow, an investigation into an organised crime gang alleged to have used hijacked identities to falsely claim Universal Credit and PIP.Read MoreOperation Dhaka also saw benefit cheat Adam Mejri jailed for 42 months on July 10 over £160,000 in fake claims and attempting to access Grenfell Tower fire relief funds.Catherine Wieland, 33, claimed she suffered anxiety so crippling she was housebound, but the DWP said it discovered she had been lying about her condition.