THREE men have been arrested on suspicion of immigration offences as part of an operation on the outskirts of Lydney yesterday (Tuesday).

Officers searched fields in the area around the Lydney by-pass near Hurst Farm with back-up from the police helicopter and a police dog team after the men initially fled.

The hunt was part of Operation Trivium, part of a Europe-wide investigation organised by TISPOL (the European Traffic Police Network), that aims to tackle criminals who travel abroad to commit crime.

Since starting in 2013 there have been more than 350 arrests.

Detective Superintendant Paul Keasey said officers were specifically targeting criminals, ‘not the communities they represent’.

This is the seventh operation of its kind and is underway across the country until Friday (November 25).

The operation involves intelligence-led patrols, warrants and roadside checks.

Detective Superintendent Keasey said: “We must emphasise that our officers will be carrying out intelligence-led action. We will be specifically targeting the criminals, not the communities they represent.

“We’re working with partners from right across the law enforcement spectrum to tackle the problem – from our colleagues at HMIC and the Home Office immigration enforcement team in this country to police officers from across Europe – including the Netherlands, Romania, Lithuania, Luxembourg and Europol.

“We will have direct contact with the national control centre in Birmingham where representatives from all these agencies will be based, which means we can work in a really joined up way. If our officers stop someone they can radio in and all the necessary checks can be made at the same time. If the person is wanted for anything we can take the relevant action.

“It’s also important our communities feel as much a part of this operation as possible though so throughout the week we’ll be keeping people updated with what is happening via our social media channels.”

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Police added: “Foreign national offenders have been a particular problem for all police forces in the last few years as they have aimed to target UK citizens or exploit UK laws with the offences they commit.

“The type of offences they can be involved in range from human trafficking, which may include forced labour or sexual exploitation, to distraction thefts from vulnerable people at supermarkets.

“In many cases offenders are part of gangs that travel around the country and become involved in more than one type of criminality, making them difficult to track. In some cases foreign offenders have introduced new types of criminality to the UK.”