Eighty litres of counterfeit vodka and 13,000 cigarettes were seized by police in a two-day sting operation in Waltham Forest.

Today it has been revealed that Operation Condor, which took place over the last bank holiday weekend, also found four shops willing to sell knives to children.

Police cadets were used to 'test purchase' weapons across the borough.

Acting commander Carl Bussey led the sting.

He said that the aim was to tackle a number of crimes from tax avoidance to illegal cabs.

He said: “Operation Condor targets those who flout licensing laws, for example, by selling knives, alcohol and harmful substances to underage youngsters; dealing drugs in pubs and clubs and illegal taxi touts.

“This is our sixth operation to date and we will continue to commit resources to these problems in order to reduce crime and increase public confidence."

To date Operation Condor across London has resulted in more than 2,200 arrests and visits to more than 20,000 licensed premises, as well as the compulsory closure of dozens of problem venues ranging from 'crack houses' to nightclubs.

Seven arrests were made over the course of the weekend over ‘immigration offences’.

Police have not revealed the names of the shops involved.