Cops swoop on asylum hotel and arrest two men alleged to be involved in shoplifting racket exposed by The Sun
DUO NICKED Cops swoop on asylum hotel and arrest two men alleged to be involved in shoplifting racket exposed by The Sun
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COPS arrested two men alleged to be involved in a shoplifting racket exposed by The Sun.
Officers swooped on the Holiday Inn in Wembley, North West London, and were seen putting one man, in a £180 Boss jacket, into a van.
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Asylum seekers were caught on video leaving their taxpayer-funded hotels to allegedly raid 15 stores in five hours
Credit: Ian Whittaker
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Our investigators watched as gangs used professional tactics to allegedly raid shops in the West End
Credit: Ian Whittaker
Rooms were also believed to have been searched in the 9.30am raid.
Last month we told how teams of thieves were leaving the taxpayer-funded hotel to hit London's West End in organised shoplifting sprees.
A whistleblower who works for a security firm on Oxford Street had tipped us off about the 'huge influx' of gangs using alarm-dodging tactics to loot thousands of pounds of gear from stores such as Liberty.
Commander Andrew Featherstone said: 'Tackling shoplifting remains a priority for the Met and I'd like to thank The Sun for assisting our investigation.
Through proactive patrols and activity we have solved 163 per cent more cases this year than in the same period last year.'
Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick added: 'It is great to see the police taking action following The Sun's superb investigation.
These individuals should face the full force of the law and be deported if they are found guilty.'
A Met spokesperson confirmed two arrests had been made and that investigations were ongoing.
They said: 'The men, aged 36 and 31, were arrested at a hotel in Wembley on the morning of Thursday August 14 on suspicion of theft.
"They remain in custody.'
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Cops arrested two men at the Holiday Inn, Wembley - which is being used to house asylum seekers
Credit: Ray Collins
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