200 deported after police swoop on thieves

More than 200 failed asylum seekers have been deported in a crackdown on crime in London.

They were arrested after police targeted gangs of thieves preying on shoppers and stores in Westminster. They are all Romanian and include several families. The operation by Marylebone police came after a spate of pickpocketing, bag thefts, snatches from restaurants and café³ and card skimming. Since the arrests, crime in the Marylebone area - which includes Oxford Street - has fallen by 10 per cent.

Many of the asylum seekers had multiple convictions and some had set up bogus identities using stolen documents. In a new agreement, Romania has banned anyone-deported from Britain from travelling abroad again for five years.

Superintendent Jon Morgan, of Marylebone Police, said: "We have recovered thousands of pounds, mobile phones - and even gold teeth."