Nearly 800 arrests as result of Operation Trivium IV

Operation Trivium ran from June 22-26 and saw officers from Romania and Lithuania, plus Dutch Police and Europol, join UK counterparts at the operation’s command and control centre in Birmingham as part of the purge on Foreign National Offenders (FNOs).

Nationally, almost 800 people were arrested – including people wanted on European Arrest Warrants for serious crimes in their home country – but that figure is expected to rise as forces continue filtering through results.

West Midlands Police hosted the continental cops at its event control suite in Edgbaston which acted as a national Command Centre for forces at home and abroad requesting intelligence on suspects.

And such was the success of the campaign that organisers are in discussions with Europol about expanding the scope of future events and bringing officers from even more European countries to participate.

Superintendent Paul Keasey, who led the operation, said: “Trivium is now an established national operation…with proven results of netting foreign criminals operating in the UK and showing that borders are no barrier to justice

“We’ve built a platform to develop Trivium; we’re talking with Europol about embracing other European police colleagues when we hope to run Trivium again later this year and in subsequent years. The scope is very exciting.”

During Operation Trivium 8,440 vehicles were stopped nationally, of which 616 were seized, and 797 people arrested.

They included:

• A Polish national arrested by Lancashire Constabulary on a European Arrest Warrant for sex offences against a five-year-old. He is now returning to Poland to complete a two-year prison sentence.

• A vehicle which was under surveillance because of suspicions of money laundering and was stopped by Cheshire police. £40,000 – believed to be proceeds of crime – was recovered from the vehicle and two persons are now in custody.

• Lithuanian man Robertas Miklusis – wanted in Nottingham for running a cannabis farm – was arrested at Birmingham Airport on Saturday (June 27) trying to leave the country. The 30-year-old, who has previous convictions in his home country for robbery, was handed over to Nottingham Police for questioning, while border control officials will probe concerns over his passport.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) played a key role in Operation Trivium and helped police forces across the country apprehend more than 20 people wanted on European Arrest Warrants.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Roads Policing, Chief Constable Suzette Davenport, said:

“Now on its fourth deployment, Operation Trivium has once again shown how the British police service, working in partnership with European colleagues, can make a difference in the fight against foreign national offenders, especially those using our roads network.

“This impressive set of results shows vigilance, hard work and dedication on the part of those officers working on Trivium, and it is to their credit that a wide range of criminals have had their activities disrupted, not least those seeking to use the UK to hide from European Arrest Warrants in their home countries.

“I wish to pay tribute to the unswerving commitment of our police and NCA officers at home, as well as those colleagues from Lithuania, Romania, Holland and those serving with Europol who have made an invaluable contribution to the success of this operation. Truly they have helped keep our communities safer.”

ENDS

Further information:

1. This operation is the fourth roll-out of Operation Trivium, which is designed to seek out and apprehend foreign national offenders who are using the country’s road networks
2. Command and control of the operation is overseen by the Central Motorway Policing Group based out of a command centre in Edgbaston, Birmingham
3. All forces in England, Wales and Scotland participated in Trivium IV.