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Organised crime gangs dispatch crooks from eastern European countries to commit crimes in the UK, often jetting home the same day.

The thieves link up with networks of criminals already settled here in Britain after taking advantage of European Union free movement rules.

Law enforcement agency Europol said the groups plot burglaries across the UK then launder the ill-gotten gains.

Latest official figures reveal a shocking 95,000 EU nationals were arrested by police in England and Wales in the 12 months to October this year.

Around 30,000 were made by Scotland Yard officers in London, followed by 4,300 in the West Midlands, and 3,500 in both West Yorkshire and Kent.

Europol director Rob Wainwright said: "You're having Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian and Bulgarian gangs and others from across Europe jumping on airlines, knocking off homes and businesses, and almost getting out of the country the next day.

"We have some criminal groups we've identified in Europe that are operating in every European country over a one or two year programme.

"Old fashioned crime - burglary and robberies of jewellery stores - are now happening by highly mobile criminal groups operating all round Europe."

This month, Scotland Yard said it had identified a trend in which eastern Europeans were trafficked into the UK to carry out upmarket shoplifting before returning home on budget airline flights.

The gangs accept a 20% arrest rate as the cost of a "weekend trafficking" operation that can secure items worth up to £100,000 that are taken out of the country for resale.

A Europol spokesman was unable to provide figures on the number of robberies carried out by travelling criminals.