Felonies committed by Romanians in Great Britain doubled in 2009

Joi, 13 august 2009, 18:25 English | Regional Europe

London's Metropolitan police took into custody some 102 people, after an operation in North West London, among which Romanians. Even if one barely finds Romanians in British and Welsh prisons, local publications are full of articles portraying Romanian felons. Compared to 2008, Romanians doubled the punishments received for committing illegal acts in 2009.

Seven Romanians were picked up when I attended the operation, a spokesperson of the Metropolitan Police declared for HotNews.ro. She added that only an official list with the names of those accused will be published.

A member of the Romanian Embassy to London assisted the police officers, to check the IDs of those arrested a report of the London police reads. The Romanian Embassy was aware of only six Romanians arrested, accused of stealing. Allegations have still to be confirmed.

Official sources within the Romanian Embassy to London declared for HotNews.ro that in 2008 some 1,100 Romanian citizens were arrested in Great Britain. Of those, 500 were imprisoned. In the first half of 2009, the number of Romanians arrested increased to 2,000.