A two-day police crackdown on licensing law breaches has led to four people being arrested in Tower Hamlets.

The arrests were made as dozens of officers targeted off-licenses, pubs and betting shops for illegal alcohol, cigarettes and gambling machines and rooted out other forms of licensing violation as part of a London-wide operation on Friday and Saturday.

Two people were arrested for being drunk and disorderly, one for possession of drugs and two for driving while disqualified.

There were also two cases of underage shoppers being sold knives and a further two who were sold alcohol during test purchasing operations where a minor is sent into a store by police.

Almost 1,300 bottles of alcohol were seized over the two days.

That included a large quantity of wine from a store in Bow Road targeted at around 8am on Friday by police and council Trading Standards officers.

Police said suspicion was raised by the cheap prices on offer and the shop’s records are now being examined to establish if the drink was legitimately bought.

A further 206 bottles of alcohol were seized in drinking control zones and six vehicles were detained after the driver was found to have no insurance.

Scrap metal dealers were also targeted under powers that allow police to visit a yard at any reasonable time to inspect the premises and the firm’s record keeping.

Across London 3,000 officers were recruited as part of the drive, named Operation Condor, and more than 400 people were arrested, making it one of the biggest of the year.