In a small town in Suffolk, a team of police officers walk into a Turkish barbershop.

It’s clean and brightly painted, the local football team’s shirt displayed on one wall. Two young men, awaiting customers, hair and beards immaculate, tell officers they commute to work here from London.

Step through the door at the back of the shop and things look very different.

In a dingy stairwell, a bed has been crammed on to a landing, and a sofa just big enough to sleep on is squeezed under the stairs. The floor and steps are covered with empty pizza boxes, food containers and drink bottles. There’s a pair of socks on the floor and a T-shirt on the bed. An unopened prescription sits on a table.

At least one person is clearly living here, but possibly not by choice.

“This could be linked to exploitation, this could be linked to some forms of modern slavery,” says John French, the modern slavery vulnerability advisor for Suffolk Constabulary.

“You have to ask yourself when you come across this sort of situation, why would someone want to live in these sorts of conditions?”

Behind a second door, this one padlocked, is a second room. This one cleaner, but clearly not safe.

Phrases in Turkish and English have been scribbled on post-it notes stuck to the wall and officers find a driving licence with a local address.

“Judging by the state of the room, this could be an ‘Alpha’ living in here,” says Mr French.

“An ‘Alpha’ is someone who’s previously been exploited,” he explains. “They have been given a little bit of trust and act like a kind of supervisor. They are very important to us, because we want to get them away from others before they can influence them.”

A brand-new Audi SUV is parked at the back.

What’s going on here?

We are in Haverhill, a small town in Suffolk bypassed by the rail network and the prosperity enjoyed elsewhere in the county, its central street bearing the familiar markers of town-centre decline.

There’s a Costa, a Boots, a branch of Peacocks, and several pubs and cafes, but they’re punctuated by “cash intensive” businesses including barbers, vape stores and takeaways, and several vacant premises that stand out like missing teeth.

It’s the cash intensive businesses that have brought the attention of police, these local raids part of the National Crime Agency’s (NCA’s) Operation Machinize, targeting money laundering, criminality and immigration offences hidden in plain sight on high streets across England.

There are 17 premises of interest in Haverhill alone, among more than 2,500 sites visited since the start of October, resulting in 924 arrests and more than £2.7m of contraband seized.

In a single block of five shops on the High Street, four are raided. A sweet shop yields a haul of smuggled cigarettes stashed in food delivery boxes.

In the Indian restaurant three doors down a young Asian man is interviewed via an interpreter dialling in on an officer’s phone. They establish his student visa has been revoked, and he has had a claim for asylum rejected.

The aim is to disrupt criminality using any means possible, be they criminal or civil. Criminal or not, the living conditions at the barbers are likely to fall foul of planning and building regulations enforceable with penalties including fines and closure, so officials from the council and fire safety are on hand.

Trading Standards are here to handle counterfeit goods seizures, and immigration officers are on hand to check the status of those questioned, pursuing anyone without permission to be in the UK.

‘A full spectrum of criminality’

Sal Melki, the NCA’s deputy director of financial crime, explains why the agency is targeting apparently small operations.

“We’re finding everything from the laundering of millions of pounds into high value goods like really expensive watches, through to the illicit trade of tobacco and vapes, and people that have been trafficked into the country working in modern slavery conditions. We’re seeing a full spectrum of criminality.

“We want to disrupt them with seizures, arrests, and prosecutions and make sure bad businesses are replaced with successful, thriving businesses that make us all feel safer and more prosperous.”

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The last visit is to a small supermarket. Through the back door is another hidden bedroom, this one not much larger than a broom cupboard, with a makeshift bed made from a sheet of plywood and a duvet.

The man behind the counter, who says he’s from Brazil via Pakistan, claims not to live in the shop, but his luggage is in a storeroom. He’s handcuffed and questioned by immigration officers, and admits working illegally on a visitor visa.

“If he is proven to be working illegally he’ll be taken to a detention centre and administratively removed,” an immigration officer tells me. “That’s not the same as deportation, the media always gets that wrong. He’ll be given the chance to book his own ticket, and if not, he’ll be removed.”

Shortly afterwards he’s put in a police car, his large red suitcase squeezed onto the front seat, and driven away.

Former Tesco boss Sir Dave Lewis is to become the new chief executive of Diageo, the struggling FTSE 100 drinks giant.

The world’s largest spirits maker, which counts Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky among its stable of brands, said he would assume the role in January.

The search for a new boss began in July when Debra Crew was effectively ousted after two years in charge.

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The company’s share price fell 40% during her tenure as the industry grappled a drastic decline in the number of people drinking at home following the COVID pandemic and, more recently, the US trade war.

A planned fightback by Ms Crew was seen by investors as failing to go far enough.

Sir Dave led a six-year turnaround of Tesco, the UK’s biggest retailer, from 2014.

He earned the nickname ‘Drastic Dave’ in his previous role at Unilever, the consumer goods giant, where he was credited with achieving similar success through cost-cutting and targeted marketing.

Diageo’s market positions have fared better than rivals during the downturn but its shares are still hovering around lows not seen for a decade.

Only last week, the company downgraded its sales and profit outlook for next year.

Diageo chair John Manzoni told investors: “The Board unanimously felt that Dave has both the extensive CEO experience, and the proven leadership skills in building and marketing world-leading brands, that is right for Diageo at this time.”

Sir Dave said of the task facing him: “Diageo is a world leading business with a portfolio of very strong brands, and I am delighted to be joining the team.

“The market faces some headwinds but there are also significant opportunities. I look forward to working with the team to face these challenges and realise some of the opportunities in a way which creates shareholder value.”

Diageo shares were 7% up on news of the appointment.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, responded: “Lewis brings deep experience in consumer brands from his time leading Tesco and decades at Unilever, though he lacks direct exposure to the spirits industry.

“Investors may welcome his strong marketing pedigree, but any major strategic reset will take time, leaving near-term focus on navigating tough trading conditions.”

The unravelling of the Barclay family’s business empire will continue this week when Carlyle, the US-based investment giant, formally takes control of The Very Group, one of Britain’s biggest online retailers.

Sky News has learnt that the company, which boasts annual revenues of over £2bn and is chaired by Nadhim Zahawi, the former Conservative chancellor, will announce on Monday that Carlyle has become its controlling shareholder.

IMI, the Abu Dhabi-based media group which has been part of efforts to take control of The Daily Telegraph since 2023, will remain a lender to The Very Group.

Sources said the company’s directors had held a board meeting on Sunday to ratify the changes.

The transaction brings to an end more than 20 years of the Barclay family’s involvement with the business, which was known as Littlewoods when it last changed hands in 2002 in a £750m deal.

Nasdaq-listed Carlyle injected several hundred million pounds into Very Group’s capital structure, paving the way for it to take ownership control under the terms of the financing.

Sources said the change of control would provide the online retailer with a stronger capital base and greater financial flexibility to support a concerted growth effort.

Previously known as Shop Direct, Very Group employs thousands of people, and sells general merchandise under the Very and Littlewoods brands, encompassing electrical goods, homewares, fashion and toys.

It has 4.4million customers and operates a major consumer finance business to help shoppers manage their payments.

Mr Zahawi was appointed as the company’s chairman last year, days after he announced that he was standing down as the MP for Stratford-on-Avon at the July 2024 general election.

He replaced Aidan Barclay, a senior member of the family which has owned the business for 23 years.

In its latest full-year results, group chief executive Robbie Feather announced a 16% increase in adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization to £307m.

Carlyle’s move to take control of Very Group was revealed by Sky News in the summer.

Earlier this year, the company borrowed a further £600m from Arini, a Mayfair-based fund, as it sought to stave off a cash crunch and buy itself breathing space.

The Barclay family drew up plans to hire bankers to run an auction of Very Group earlier this year, but a process was never formally launched.

Retail industry insiders have long speculated that the business was likely to be valued in the region of £2.5bn – below the valuation which the Barclay family was holding out for in an auction which took place several years ago.

The Barclays, who used to own London’s Ritz hotel, have already lost control of other corporate assets including the Yodel parcel delivery service, as well as the Telegraph newspapers.

Carlyle, which declined to comment, could hold onto the business for a significant period before looking to offload it.

Very Group also declined to comment on Sunday.