AT LEAST one Macclesfield resident has been arrested in connection with a £2m VAT swindle in dawn raids carried out by HM Revenue & Customs.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have confirmed that criminal investigators arrested four people from Cheshire during a series of raids. An HMRC spokesman said at least one of them was from Macclesfield and that all four were detained following dawn raids on two Cheshire properties last week.
Cheshire Police were involved in the arrests.
HMRC said a total of 12 people had been held across Britain in connection with stealing more than £2m in a major VAT repayment fraud linked to the construction industry.
Three men from Stockport were arrested and four held in Cheshire, including one from Macclesfield.
During the dozen raids - in Cheshire, Manchester, Suffolk and Staffordshire - live ammunition, CS spray and an imitation firearm were seized.
Adrian Farley, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: "The arrests are a result of many months of investigation across the UK to unravel what is believed to be a major fraud."
All 12 people arrested have been bailed until June.
