After the tremendous response we had to an article in the January issue, entitled "What Recession?' Sister Aset and Brother Karl Duff went to investigate. Here is their report.

In recent media stories of raids and arrests in connection with Operation Bumble Bee, an undercover operation aimed at reducing the number of burglaries in the London area, the police have boasted of recovering thousands of items of stolen property and arresting dozens of criminals in the process.

Yet there was no marked increase in the number of people convicted of committing burglaries, nor has there been a marked decrease in the number of reported burglaries as a result of these raids. The only significant difference these raids have made is that many African businesses have collapsed and died because of the multiple seizures of their stock.

One African Brother from the Caribbean was so traumatised by the experience, he nearly had a nervous breakdown. He has asked us not to identify him because he is still in business and fears that the police will return with a repeat performance. His silence does not guarantee they will not return but we respect his wishes. We'll call him Mat.

Both of Mat's shops were emptied into trucks blocking one end of the street early one morning and taken to a police warehouse. whey kept everything, including papers, for several months and then told him to come and pick them up - everything No charge. No explanation. No apology.

He is now operating from market stalls around London after losing his shop premises.

Al and Inyang were operating a very successful computer sales business until the police came several times over a 12 month period and seized hundreds of items which they said were stolen. Al is now appealing against conviction and a two-year sentence for handling 2 items of the three hundred plus they took from him. We spoke to his brother Manny who also runs a computer sales business called BAB (see contacts page).

He feels that apart from the fact that his brother's case was badly handled, there is clear indication that the police concocted evidence relating to serial numbers and reinstatement of dismissed charges. "It was very similar to Spartacus's case but because it wasn't presented right, other things were brought up which were irrelevant to the whole thing anyway."

"This case has been going on for nearly three years and the effect on the business is they closed it down.

"They come m, they take everything and treat you as the wrongdoer. They assume that you're guilty. Even though you've got a bit of paper to show, yes, you bought it here and what time and whatever. It still means a trip down to the police station. We know of another business they've just closed down also."

C. Williams, whose shop Williams Audio, was raided in November 1992, speaks bitterly. Seventy-eight items, portable telephones, in-car audio worth £15,000 was taken. We had receipts for them all"

"There were no charges brought against me we got our equipment back after four months in April 1993. Apart from five items which they said were stolen. We bad a dramatic financial loss, including time spent dealing with the case. I lost a lot of faith in myself. It caused me a lot of stress."

Mr. Williams is at present suing the police.

There is also the case of Gary Mason the heavy weight boxer whose shop Punch and Jewelry was shut down by the police who emptied the shop and having found nothing stolen advertised in the media for people to come for ward and claim his property.

The case of Spartacus R., similar in many respects to all the above, is both more complex and simpler.

At the time of the two raids in October and December 1992, he was suing the police for assault, wrongful arrest and false imprisonment This arose from three incidents related to his boycott campaign against the sale of South African goods. It appears that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) were obtaining information which only his solicitors were party to.

When the police raided at dawn with a warrant for Computers, lazer printers and computer accessories", they took his mobile phone, answer phones, private papers, letters, photographs, diaries, receipts (most of which went missing m their possession. They later claimed that he had no receipts).

As part of his bail condition be had to report to the station twice weekly and he was restricted from travelling out of the country.

They kept all his goods for nine months then gave back the two-thirds which were not subject to charge, 2 days after a Magistrates court hearing for their return.

Len Woodley, the white-hearted African crown court judge ordered a retrial when he realised that the jury was about to acquit. Spartacus was duly acquitted six months later, 1 5th February 1994, after a 2-week trial, on all 15 counts of handling stolen goods. He has not yet been given the rest of his goods.

"They won't be very happy with me now" Spartacus says. "They have been trying to lock me up for a long time and so far the score is 12 to O in my favour. They have, however, succeeded in killing my business and causing me a great deal of problems. I am not about to give up the struggle."

Aset & Karl Duff