Bus-ted! Romanian con artists who fleece tourists on Westminster Bridge are caught when double decker full of police pulls up

Police borrow bus to take suspected illegal gamblers by surprise in bridge raid


When a bright red double-decker London bus pulled up alongside dozens of suspected Romanian illegal gamblers on Westminster Bridge it barely raised an eyebrow.

Operating in the shadow of Parliament, the alleged con artists - who have been fleecing tourists and and visitors - may well have believed their network of well-placed look-outs would give them plenty of warning of approaching police and undercover officers.

So they were taken completely by surprise when the doors of the No. 2 bus opened and about 30 uniform and plain clothes officers jumped out.



Game's up: Forming an orderly queue, the suspected con artists wait their turn to be questioned by police

Tourist trap: One of men suspected of being part of the gang who fleece visitors out of thousands of pounds with games and card tricks

Police borrowed the Arriva London bus for the day, complete with driver, to ambush illegal gamblers who have plagued tourists on the bridge.

The carefully planned operation involved covert tactics and undercover officers mingling with the crowds to spot the ringleaders.

For five hours officers from the Safer Transport Command waited on the bus — codenamed Red One — waiting to strike.

There were numerous false starts while police waited for the gamblers to arrive, and at one point the operation was nearly called off when one group of possible suspects spotted the bus waiting in a side street.

Finally, with a police helicopter hovering high overhead, the order came to 'go, go, go' ... unfortunately, at that point the bus was caught in heavy traffic half way round Parliament Square. As one officer commented drily: 'This is not going to make a Hollywood action movie.'

However, the con artists were taken unawares when the bus pulled up on the bridge at about 5.30 last night. More than 25 Romanians were detained and 12 were charged with gaming offences.

Arrests: The men were less than impressed at having been arrested as part of the sting on gangs of con-artists



Police made the arrests after turning up for the sting in a London bus

Among those held on the bridge was a woman with a young baby in a pram. She was later released.

Officers recovered hundreds of pounds in cash and several gaming sets. As many as nine gangs playing fraudulent dice or ‘three card trick’ games have been seen operating on the bridge in recent weeks.

Undercover officers have watched as tourists have been fleeced for hundreds of pounds. One American tourist lost $200 in 90 seconds.

Police have struggled to arrest the gangs using conventional tactics because they can scatter within seconds. MPs have demanded action, saying the gangs were blighting London’s image.

Caught out: More than 20 people were detained on Westminster Bridge in the police swoop

Quizzed: One of those questioned was a woman with a baby in a pram but she was later released

In a pre-raid briefing Sgt Darin Birmingham, who masterminded the operation, said: 'London is suffering from crime coming from Eastern Europe and this has got to stop. People who come to London for the Olympic Games want a nice trip, they do not want to get ripped off.'

Afterwards he said: 'This has been a hugely successful operation which has sent a strong message to these gangs that they will not be tolerated in London. We will be back here on the street every day to deter them.

'This is the policing that Londoners want to see, people have been congratulating us on today’s action.'

In a series of raids codenamed Operation Ursus yesterday 400 officers made at least 54 arrests for theft offences.

Chief Supt John Sutherland said: 'These crimes are committed by individuals but they are being orchestrated by organised criminal networks. We are targeting criminals at the top as well as the bottom of these networks.'

Trickery: One of the suspect games used by the alleged illegal gamblers (left). While (right) police used deception of their own by arriving on the raid in a bus to stop the gang fleeing before they arrived





