Europol supports Operation Trivium 4 in the UK and The Netherlands

Europol has supported UK and Dutch law enforcement authorities in a weeklong operation to tackle criminality across the UK and The Netherlands through national roads policing. Operation Trivium 4 ran simultaneously in various locations in England, Wales and The Netherlands from 22-28 June. It targeted foreign national offenders who utilise the road networks, as well as human trafficking, organised property crime and drugs trafficking.

With regard to the actions in the UK, an operational coordination centre was set up in Birmingham from 22 to 28 June. The coordination centre was hosted by the West Midlands Police and saw the participation of law enforcement officers from the UK, Romania, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Europol. For the actions in The Netherlands, an operational coordination centre led by the Dutch Police was set up in Driebergen, between 25-28 June. Europol deployed six criminal analysts equipped with mobile offices to support the operations with on-the-spot intelligence analysis and real-time cross-checks of all data gathered in the course of the actions. Europol’s close cooperation with the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL) contributed to the success of Operation Trivium.

During Operation Trivium’s action week, several traffic operations and checks on vehicles and persons took place in both countries, which led to over 850 arrests.

In the UK, almost 800 people were arrested (including people wanted on European Arrest Warrants for serious crimes in their home countries), and 8,440 vehicles were stopped, of which 616 were seized.

During operation Trivium in The Netherlands, 43 individuals were arrested and numerous evidence seized, including: more than EUR 150000 in cash, 400 cans of  suspicious baby milk powder, numerous burglary tools, drugs (2kg MDMA, 1 kg cocaine), 1500 suspicious Viagra pills, 1 water scooter, 1 trailer and 1 vehicle.

Commenting on Operation Trivium 4, Superintendent Paul Keasey, who led the operation in the UK, 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.”

Christian Jechoutek, Head of the Information Hub Business Area at Europol, stated: ‘Working closely with law enforcement agencies, EU Member States and its international partners, Europol is committed to fighting serious and organised crime in the EU. Combating organised property crime, drugs trafficking and trafficking in human beings are key priorities for us. Criminals involved in these illicit activities are mobile and operate at a transnational level. Operation Trivium is a strong example of how cross-border policing achieves excellent results, and also demonstrates the determination of the main European actors to join forces to tackle crime across the EU. In this respect, Europol has expressed its interest in hosting the coordination centre for a future pan-European Operation Trivium at its headquarters in The Hague’’.

For further information on the results in the UK, please see: http://www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/op-trivium/index.aspx