The Caped Crusaders arrest illegal gamblers in Westminster

Police officers in Westminster have resorted to fancy dress to catch illegal gamblers

Inspector Darren Watson and Police Constable Osman donned their alter ego Batman and Robin costumes and launched their superhero mission, after realising the suspects they were after recognised their faces too easily

Inspector Darren Watson, responsible for local neighbourhood policing in Lambeth North West - (also known as Batman) said:

“We know that two repeat offenders have been operating on Westminster Bridge and have come to recognise me and my team from our patrols.

“I knew that if we were going to catch them we would have the think outside the box, and then I remembered that I had Batman and Robin costumes to hand which could come in use.

“Although dressing up may not be the most conventional policing method, we were thrilled to see that in this case it worked perfectly and the team were able to get some great results, taking these people off the street and protecting tourists and Londoners from being fleeced.”

The Dynamic Duo were successful in their efforts and two men have just been convicted.

Eugen Stocia, age 32 (26.07.1992) of no fixed address and Constica-Gherorghe Barbu, age 53 (28.05.1971) of Herbert Road, Greenwich were arrested on Saturday, 15 February for providing the facilities to gamble.

Barbu was convicted at Croydon Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 17 February after being remanded by police and fined £925.

Stocia was convicted in absence at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 10 April after failing to appear in court. A warrant is out for his arrest.

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app.