Gangsters netted by Scotland Yard at bridge check points in blitz on vehicle crime

 
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Police arrested more than 21 people after setting up check points on London road bridges to target known gangsters travelling across the capital.

Three gang members were seized in the operation, which saw more than 300 Met officers deployed last night.

Scotland Yard used vans with automatic number plate reading cameras, which identify stolen or uninsured vehicles and also those associated with wanted criminals. The officers checked cars for guns, knives and drugs.

Among suspects arrested was a serial sex offender on the run for a violent attack on a woman.

The known gangsters included one driving a car with false plates and who was being hunted for a burglary in Kent. Another was wanted for assault causing actual bodily harm and the third was carrying a baseball bat in his vehicle.

There were seven arrests for drugs, two for driving while disqualified and one each for being drunk and disorderly, fraud, car theft and handling stolen goods. The Met also issued 21 cannabis warnings and two penalty notices for disorder to two men previously given the cannabis warnings.

Almost 200 cars were pulled over in Operation Pegasus, which ran into the early hours today, with 13 immediately confiscated for being uninsured.

In addition, rail commuters at Vauxhall, Clapham Junction and Tooting Bec stations were directed through airport-style security gates, scanned for hidden weapons and checked by drug dogs.

The wanted sex attacker, who has five previous convictions, was stopped on Vauxhall Bridge when his registration plate was flagged by the computer.

Officers in a control room kept watch on social media, with the search teams flitting between six bridges from Wandsworth to Lambeth as warnings of the trap spread on Twitter.

Det Supt Eric Phelps said: “We know that criminals use these key routes to travel across London and commit crimes so we used a range of tactics to target, tackle and deter gang-related offending. It is part of our continuing total war on crime.”

The high-profile action was the first in a weekend of intense police activity to create a “hostile environment” for criminals intent on hijacking the Notting Hill carnival.

Officers fear there could be clashes at the bank holiday event between rival north and south London gangs. They say a lull in gang activity during the Olympics has come to an end, with a surge in knife and gun crime — particularly in east London.

Thousands of officers will patrol the carnival, set to attract record crowds.

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