21 PEOPLE were arrested in Essex as part of a week long campaign to target foreign criminality across the country.

Operation Trivium involved officers from UK and European police forces joining together to try and catch those carrying out crimes and using the British road network to do so.

Anyone identified as being involved were then put through databases across several countries with any information uncovered followed up with raids.

Operations were supported by other authorities including immigration and trading standards officers.

Chief Insp Jon Hayter said: "Operatium Trivium was carried out at the same time by all forces in the UK and was in response to an increasing number of crimes being committed by people from abroad.

"Essex has a major airport, sea ports and important road links to ferry ports in Kent and Suffolk and much of the work of Operation Trivium was related to detecting or deterring offenders coming into our county to commit their crimes or using our roads to go to other areas.

"Using ANPR technology and intelligence-gathering methods we have been able make a significant number of arrests and have closed down a large cannabis factory.

"Operation Trivium brought together all forces during a week of action but we are constantly on the look-out for foreign criminals all-year round.”

 

• Five homes and business premises were raided in Colchester.

Police officers assisted officers from Trading Standards in connection with the suspected distribution of illegal cigarettes.

Trading Standards officers seized 12,000 cigarettes at the Geylanii newsagents on St Botolph’s Street and enquiries are continuing.

An Iranian man was arrested on suspicion of trademark offences.

 

• A Vietnamese woman and two Vietnamese boys aged 16 and 17, were arrested on suspicion of immigration offences when police executed warrants at addresses in Colchester.

A teenage boy from Vietnam was arrested when a search warrant was executed at an address in Harwich on the same day.

 

• Checks were carried out on arrivals and departures at Harwich Port and Stansted Airport. Two men were arrested on suspicion of fraud after a stop check near the airport.

 

• A Polish man was arrested at Clacton on suspicion of taking a vehicle without consent and driving while disqualified.

 

• A Romanian man was arrested on suspicion of theft during a roadside check at Basildon and a Lebanese man was arrested at Grays on suspicion of perverting the course of justice in relation to false driving documents.

 

• Fifteen people were arrested and cannabis plants with a potential street value of £1.5m were seized during a five-day operation to detect and deter the activities of foreign criminals operating in in Essex.

Two Albanian men were arrested and charged after being found with the crop inside an industrial unit at Waltham Abbey.

Officers seized more than 1,700 mature cannabis plants and 2,000 seedlings. An extensive range of production equipment was also seized.

Two people have been remanded into custody.

 

• 803 vehicles were stopped with 273 being driven by foreign nationals.

16 of these vehicles were seized for insurance and driving licence offences and 13 other foreign drivers received fixed penalty notices for other driving-related offences.