Twenty-five people were arrested in dawn raids yesterday as police tried to shut down a gang which trafficked children from Romania and forced them to steal and rob on the streets of London.Police say that since Romania joined the EU in 2007 there has been a sharp rise in children being brought to London by modern-day "Fagin's gangs". Up to 200 Romanian children have been forced into crime in London and can generate up to £20m a year for gangs controlling them.The 10 children taken into care yesterday included one less than a year old. They were all found in overcrowded conditions, with 25 people crammed into a four-bed house. But after medical tests yesterday they were found to be in good health.Police say intelligence led them to raid 17 addresses in Slough in Berkshire, from where credit cards, cash and documents linked to fraud were recovered.Police believed they caught at least two gangs carrying out non-violent stealing such as pickpocketing, cashpoint thefts and mobile phone thefts. The children were used in the City and central London to distract potential crime victims.Commander Steve Allen, who runs policing in the borough of Westminster, said: "We were dealing with a highly organised criminal network, originating in Romania, transferring children into Britain to commit crimes."Allen said that between April and December 2006, 12 Romanian nationals were arrested for theft. A year later that number was 214. The police estimate that the Romanian children can each generate up to £100,000 a year for gang leaders. Allen said: "The family will give a child to a criminal gang on the understanding or promise the child will work and become a source of income for the family. The family will be given a loan by the gang at a high interest rate and left with a large debt."
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