Eastern European police join West Midlands crooks crackdown

For the first time officers from Poland, Lithuania and Romania are working alongside British colleagues and targeting known criminals from their home countries.

Marauding gangs of Eastern Europeans are suspected of running several rackets including shoplifting, fraud, metal theft and tearing catalytic converters from cars.

The nationwide traffic operation – codenamed Operation Trivium – is being co-ordinated at the Tally Ho police training centre in Edgbaston, Birmingham.

The foreign police are currently based at the central call centre and give British police on the road quick access to their intelligence files. Police who stop any vehicles registered in one of the three countries will be able to immediately discover if the occupants are wanted.

Chief Superintendent Martin Evans, head of the Central Motorway Police Group, said: "We want to reassure the public that we are working with our European colleagues to tackle these gangs.

"We use the best intelligence and skills we have to detect, prevent and convict those responsible for crime around the country. Some individuals we have previously stop-ped had significant criminal convictions."

Gloucestershire Chief Constable Suzette Davenport added: "Many of these criminals are organised and use the road network to travel from area to area in an attempt to avoid detection. We want to prevent the public from the misery they cause.

"These criminal gangs must use our roads to carry out their illegal activity so by targeting them in this way we are aiming to develop a robust system to tackle the issue."

Road Safety Minister Stephen Hammond said: "This is an excellent example of the Department for Transport working together with the police to help keep our roads safe. These gangs pose a real risk to other road users as their vehicles are likely to be uninsured, have no MOT, and the drivers may not even hold a valid driving licence."