100 foreign criminals deported in one year
RAPISTS, drug dealers and violent offenders were among 100 foreign nationals kicked out of Scotland in the past year.
They included a child rapist from Bulgaria who was caught after being stopped by police officers for a minor traffic offence.
The 37- year- old registered sex offender, who had convictions for abusing a six-year- old girl and a woman, plus numerous robberies, was one of ‘about 100’ foreign criminals deported during the past 12 months.
In its first year Operation Nexus also caught up with drug dealers, violent offenders and sex criminals but earlier figures show there are more than 5,000 foreign criminals on our streets, illustrating the huge challenge faced by police and immigration authorities.
Those already removed include a 30year-old Nigerian who absconded from the London area while facing drugs supply charges, a 31-year-old Latvian who amassed 62 convictions in the UK, and a 49-year-old Lithuanian convicted of assault and other crimes.
The joint operation between Police Scotland and Home Office Immigration Enforcement has been hailed a success by the authorities.
All foreign nationals arrested by police are checked by immigration officials and, if found to be in the country illegally or continue to offend in the UK, are sent packing.
I mmigration Minister James Brokenshire said: ‘Foreign criminals have no place on the streets of Britain and this Government is using all the resources available to protect the British public.’
Officials have been monitoring the migrant population, making checks on anyone arrested. If they were found to have a criminal record in their homeland or were on the run, they were removed from Britain.
Thousands of suspects have been caught and deported from Britain following the introduction of the European Arrest Warrant in 2004.
However, by March 2014 there were hundreds of foreign offenders, including high-risk individuals of whom the Home Office officials had lost track.
Ruaraidh Nicolson, Police Scotland Assistant Chief Constable for Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism, said: ‘Operation Nexus has proven to be very successful at identifying, targeting and removing persistent foreign national offenders.
‘For example, a 37-year-old Bulgarian was stopped for a traffic offence. Checks carried out by Operation Nexus revealed he had convictions in Bulgaria for raping a six-year-old girl and a woman, and for robbery.
‘He was a registered sex offender in Bulgaria and was required to notify the authorities when he moved to Scotland, which he failed to do. Police Scotland shared this information with Home Office Immigration Enforcement, who secured his deportation.’
‘No place on the streets of Britain’