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Police defend gangs crackdown
WESTMINSTER’S top police officer has defended his action against Romanian crime gangs thought to be involved in child trafficking.
Ten children, including a baby less than one year old, were taken into care after dawn raids on houses in Slough on Thursday last week. All but one of them have since been reunited with their parents and 14 people remain in police custody charged with immigration offences, theft and handling stolen goods.
Borough commander Steve Allen, who led the raids, told BBC radio Five Live: “I’m not able to see into the future. I didn’t know exactly who and what we were going to find in those addresses.
“But I did act on the basis of sound intelligence.
“And I acted under my duty to ensure the welfare of children.
“The story would have been very different had I not acted and subsequently one of the children turned up dead.
“You would quite rightly be putting me on the spot and asking me questions about why I hadn’t taken action.” |
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