Hemel Hempstead man arrested as part of police swoop across three countries

Paul Popeanu, 34, of Rossgate, has been charged with conspiracy to 
burgle and remove criminal 
property from the UK.

Another man, from Harrow, was charged with the same offence, while three more people were arrested in the UK and six in Romania.

Popeanu has been 
remanded to appear 
in custody at Kingston Crown Court on Tuesday, July 23.

The operation was 
carried out by the 
Metropolitan Police in conjunction with Romanian National Police and Italian Carabinieri, supported by Europol and Eurojust.

A Joint Investigation Team (JIT) was set up in 2017 between the cooperating countries with the assistance of Eurojust 
to coordinate the 
investigation into the theft of 260 priceless antique books.

A total of 45 warrants were executed, including 13 in the UK, on June 15 as part of an international day of action.