A spate of burglaries led police to mount synchronised dawn raids on the homes of suspects around Hammersmith and Fulham. Officers swooped on the house in De Morgan Road, Fulham, this morning, where they discovered bolt cutters and tools, a 50in television and other expensive electrical goods which are thought to have been snatched from people's homes.
A man in his 30s - released from prison last year - was brought out in handcuffs and taken for questioning. Around seven other suspects were also targeted.
Police launched the operation after a spike in residential burglaries threatened to cut into progress on crime reduction statistics. The borough's force has been set a target of reducing annual burglaries by 4.7 per cent – but in October, the figure was running at three per cent higher than the previous year.
A string of successful operations brought the number of break-ins down to around 11 per cent lower than last year after several burglars were jailed before Christmas.
Several burglars have been targeting luxury cars around Twickenham and Surrey and driving them back into the borough.
Inspector Kevin Foley said: "If you're looking to steal a really nice Audi or BMW, it's really difficult in Hammersmith and Fulham because 70 per cent of the borough is made up of flats," said Insp Foley. "If you go to Surrey, the car is going to be on the drive."
