Roma frauds in Denmark to be run out of town

Police in Denmark claim that Copenhagen and other popular cities in the country are being targeted by con artist groups dominated by Roma from Romania. This annoyance has become something of an annual migration, but this year Danish authorities are trying to beat the tricky Roma at their own game.

The Head of the Copenhagen Inner City Local Police Squad, Kim Vinholdt, admits that in the past the police could do little more than give frauds caught in the act a fine. Since most of these con artists are from Romania, an EU member state, they cannot be expelled from Denmark unless they commit a more serious crime.

The Politiken reports that to get around this legal obstacle, Danish police have decided to operate a trial program to see if these Roma can be expelled with a charge of fraud. “When we pick up tricksters we normally give them a fine for illegally using the streets for gaming. But that hasn’t been enough to have them expelled from the country. Now we will run a test case to see if we can’t get them sentenced and expelled for fraud,” Vinholdt said.

The Romanians arrive in groups each summer, and tend to play a gambling game involving three boxes and a ball. This timeless trick is played on unsuspecting tourists at local attractions. But the Roma are skilled at what they do and local police have had trouble catching them.

“Although we have increased our focus on tricksters in Copenhagen this summer, we have found it difficult to catch them as they have lookouts posted and as soon as police officers turn up, they disappear,” Vinholdt added.

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