Organised crime gangs trying to intimidate people in debt to loan sharks are being investigated as the possible culprits for mysterious red paint and graffiti attacks on homes.
Families in London have expressed concern after a spate of incidents in which red paint was splattered at night on the front of rows of houses, often accompanied with the daubing of numbers and the word “brothel”.
The incidents in Walthamstow, east London, in recent weeks come after similar ones in Liverpool, Bradford, Reading, Huddersfield, Clacton-on-Sea and other parts of London.
The attacks have caused distress among those affected and have led to the sharing of conspiracy theories online.
However, the Metropolitan police has now told local representatives that it is pursuing a number of lines of inquiry including “intimidation where money is owed and links to organised crime”.
Investigators are monitoring themes including the paint colour used and the spelling of words and are waiting for the forensic results of items found at the scene.
“At this stage, there is no firm evidence to suggest the running of a brothel at any of the addresses identified,” said the Met, which also said there was no evidence of Islamophobia or links to recent incidents in which mosques in north-east London were targeted with graffiti.
There have been a total of seven incidents in the borough of Waltham Forest, with six addresses targeted, the police said. All of the addresses that were specifically targeted were described as “legitimate businesses who allow people to book online (eg Airbnb, Booking.com etc.)”
Walthamstow residents whose houses were splattered with paint earlier this month had told the Guardian that they had received letters from the apparent culprits claiming that specific addresses were being targeted.
Stella Creasy, the Labour MP for Walthamstow, wrote to the Home Office last week calling for an investigation into what appears to be a series of similar incidents across English cities.
She said on Wednesday: “I’ve been told by the police that they now recognise six linked attacks and are investigating a connection to organised crime - I am concerned there have been many more and would appeal to others who have had this happen to come forward.”
The incidents – which date back to at least 2023 – bear similar hallmarks to the intimidation tactics of criminal gangs operating in China and cities abroad where there are Chinese diasporas.
A number of people with Chinese heritage are said to be among those living in properties that have been targeted in England.
A UN refugee agency report in 2023 cited the splashing of red paint on doors by loan sharks associated with criminal Triad gangs to intimidate debtors when they do not pay.
