SelectaDNA Wins Innovative Project of the Year at British Security Awards

SelectaDNA has been named Innovative Project of the Year at the 2026 British Security Awards, in recognition of its partnership with the Metropolitan Police under Operation Zoridon. The award was presented at the ceremony on 16 June 2026.

About Operation Zoridon

The operation brought together more than 300 officers alongside Trading Standards, Border Force, local authority licensing teams, and major national retailers. SelectaDNA supported the Met in deploying forensic marking kits across participating retailers, including Sainsbury's, Holland & Barrett, Co-op, BP, and Tesco, with thousands of individual items marked and circulated into stores as part of a targeted deterrence and intelligence-gathering strategy.

SelectaDNA's forensic markers are invisible to the naked eye but fluoresce under UV light. Each marker carries a unique DNA sequence and embedded microdots that identify the item's owner. Officers entering suspect premises could scan goods on shelves and immediately verify which items were stolen and from which stores, accelerating enforcement and strengthening the evidential chain.

Across two days of action on 14 and 16 October 2025, the Met carried out more than 120 targeted raids, resulting in 32 arrests and the recovery of hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of stolen goods, including electronics, cosmetics, food, alcohol, luxury goods, and illicit vapes. Nine shops received closure notices, with further long-term closure orders sought through the courts.

Industry firsts delivered by the project

Operation Zoridon established several firsts for UK policing and the security industry:

• The first city-wide deployment of forensic marking as an operational intelligence tool, rather than solely a deterrent.
• The first integration of forensic technology with multi-agency criminal market disruption, including Trading Standards and local authority licensing.
• The first use of a specialist SelectaDNA search dog trained to detect forensic-marked stolen goods during retail crime enforcement.

A sub-operation in south-west London recovered £150,000 worth of stolen goods directly traced to retailers using SelectaDNA, confirming systematic handling of stolen property and providing prosecutable evidence linking offenders to specific thefts.

What the award recognises

The British Security Awards Innovative Project of the Year category recognises work that represents a first for the industry, a particular market, or a new application for an existing security solution. Operation Zoridon qualifies on all three counts.

The project was built upon borough-level operations previously recorded as best practice by the College of Policing in 2025. Its expansion transformed Zoridon into a city-wide enforcement model and demonstrated how forensic marking can function as an intelligence platform, not only a property protection measure.

Senior leadership from the Metropolitan Police, including Commander Andy Featherstone and Superintendent Luke Baldock, participated in the operation alongside the Mayor of London and the Policing Minister, reflecting the national significance of the initiative.

A scalable model for retail crime reduction

Operation Zoridon was designed to be replicable. The retailer-police partnership model it established, where retailers mark products, contribute intelligence, and benefit directly from enforcement activity, provides a practical framework that other forces and retail partnerships can adopt.

Among the outcomes supported by SelectaDNA's deployment was the recovery and return of stolen tools to their original owner, demonstrating how forensic traceability can deliver direct justice for individual victims as well as systemic disruption of organised networks.

To find out how SelectaDNA can support your retail crime reduction strategy, get in touch.