Post by Deleted on Jun 29, 2012 18:51:58 GMT
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.
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.
police used deception of their own by arriving on the raid in a bus to stop the gang fleeing before they arrived.
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.
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.
police used deception of their own by arriving on the raid in a bus to stop the gang fleeing before they arrived.
www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2166111/Police-bust-Romanian-gamblers-double-decker-bus-Westminter-Bridge-London.html?ICO=most_read_module
