Colombians 'fly in' to ransack homes

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Police in the Kingston area say they are under pressure from gangs flying in from countries such as Colombia and are drafting in officers from other areas to investigate the crimes.

Three Colombian gangsters have been jailed for burglary so far and face deportation at the end of their sentences but police says others fly in to replace them. Inspector Jaiye Warwick-Saunders from Kingston Police described them as a "particularly nasty crime network".

He said a number of arrests had been made in London and the home counties, and several suspects were in custody. Seven Mexicans and Colombians were arrested in connection with break-ins last year.

The gangs have fuelled a 30 per cent rise in burglaries in south-west London and North Surrey. Ninety-four homes were burgled in December - the highest figure for three years. Altogether 413 homes were raided between June and November - an increase of nearly 100 break-ins compared with the same period last year.

Police say three or four gang members at a time target homes in quiet residential streets in the A3 corridor. In December Det Insp Brian Fitzpatrick said: "It seems as fast as we arrest them, they get replaced."