Christmas is coming and although for many hardworking Brits that means a trip to Oxford Street to buy presents for their family, Romanian criminals have had a different thought.
The Christmas lights will be switched on for Oxford Street on November 5 and shoppers are expected to spend a whopping £1.7billion in central London in the next two months, the New West End Company forecasted.
Yet as millions of tourists flock to the capital, Romanian ‘Fagin’ gangs are already gearing up to make more than £1,000 a day in loose change by using a network of organised beggars ‘pretending’ to be homeless.
A MailOnline investigation found a dozen beggars using similar signs with the same handwriting at some of London’s top tourist hotspots – including Oxford Street, Regent Street, Leicester Square, Piccadilly Circus and Green Park by The Ritz.
Security guards and safety officers whose job it is to protect the public from cunning crooks told MailOnline these beggars were mostly Romanians who were part of a gang that tours Europe and comes to London in three-month stints to rake in cash from unsuspecting do-gooders.
One beggar, who was not surrounded by any possessions or sleeping paraphernalia that might suggest actually being homeless, told MailOnline she had only been in Britain for four days and didn’t plan on staying for long.
The authorities believe Romanian gang bosses control the beggars just as Fagin did in Charles Dickens’s Oliver Twist, ordering them where to sit and how to beg as well as giving them signs and cups to complete their vagabond appearance while in the country.
A Community Safety Officer from the Heart of London Business Alliance told MailOnline: ‘It’s all gang related. They all get a sign and a cup. Always the same writing. They all get told where to sit.
Beggars using the same signs are a telltale way of spotting a begging gang, charities have said
MailOnline found a dozen beggars in central London this week with incredibly similar signs
They all had variations of the phrase, ‘I’m very hungry, God bless you’, with hyphens between many of the words
A beggar in a thick blue jacket beside another similar sign grins as he inspects what he has been given
Kind passersby were seen giving some of the beggars food. However, officials tasked with protecting the public said they are only after money
A man begs for money while holding a sign in central London saying, ‘I’m very hungry, God bless you’
An elderly woman with a similar sign was seen with her hands clasped together
A woman with a shawl over her head was seen speaking to a member of the public on Oxford Street
Near The Ritz and Green Park another woman was seen with a similar sign
Throughout the day the beggars changed locations and were seen chatting with each other
‘If you move them on, they’ll go back to the same spot, whereas if you moved on a rough sleeper they would move somewhere else.
‘They normally sit outside businesses. We constantly move them on when we see them.’
Another officer said: ‘They are a family who come from Romania. They work here for about three months and then they go to a different country.
‘They go in Europe to Italy, Spain, France. It’s a business.
‘At Christmas time it’s busy, moving more money, then they move to countries where it’s hotter and there’s more money.
‘People give them food and drinks but they’re not about that.
‘They just want money. No one is hanging around charity shops for food and drinks and clothes. These people are not after food or drink.
‘They don’t want to work. They want easy money.’
Each beggar can reportedly make more than £100 a day, meaning if they pool their earnings, gang bosses could make thousands every day.
This man was spotted begging beside the Hard Rock Cafe near Piccadilly Circus
An American tourist gave him some money moments before the beggar was moved on by the authorities
Two Community Safety Officers from the Heart of London Business Alliance and a Metropolitan Police Community Support Officer patrolled the streets this week
One of the men took the beggar’s sign and tore it up. The officer later told MailOnline: ‘It’s all gang related. They all get a sign and a cup. Always the same writing. They all get told where to sit’
His colleagues said the gang of beggars were largely from Romania and toured Europe to rake in cash from unsuspecting members of the public
After the beggar’s sign was taken away, he picked up his pot of cash and pocketed it
He then started to move away but was later spotted loitering down the road
A Metropolitan Police Community Support Officer (PSCO) accompanying the duo said the ‘big problem’ was that the money selfless Brits gave to the beggars was actually going to the Romanian gang bosses.
PSCO Moise told MailOnline: ‘We believe there are awful men behind that tell them exactly where and when to be there and how to proceed.
‘They don’t know how to write. They have someone writing [the signs] for them. They are predominantly Romanians, in this area especially.’
In the build up to Christmas, London is set to see a flurry of begging gangs descend on the city to take advantage of festive goodwill.
It has even been claimed that the beggars are driven home in fancy cars at the end of their begging shift, although this is not something MailOnline saw.
A PCSO said: ‘They don’t know how to write. They have someone writing [the signs] for them. They are predominantly Romanians, in this area especially’
One woman with another similar sign was seen taking food from a stranger outside a bakery shop. She didn’t appear to have any sleeping kit with her
She was later seen at a different location with a different sign as she chatted with her friends and ate a burger
Another woman was seen near Green Park with yet another similar sign
One of the beggars speaks to passersby beside a bakery shop and Bond Street tube station on Oxford Street
She was later seen at a different location, when she spoke to a MailOnline reporter (pictured), telling him she had arrived from Romania four days previously and didn’t plan to stay for long
A beggar holding a Pret cup and a sign saying, ‘I’m very hungry, God bless you,’ outside the entrance to Tottenham Court Road Underground on Dean Street
Another woman was seen in central London with an almost identical sign
When some of the beggars saw our reporters, they started to hide their signs or move to a different spot.
Yet others carried on unabashed – some even flashing smartphones as they chatted to each other.
A female beggar in a blue hoodie and silver gilet told MailOnline she had arrived from Romania four days ago, but wasn’t planning to stay long because she could make more money elsewhere.
She then said she didn’t understand English and didn’t answer when asked how she had written her sign if that was the case.
Throughout a single day this week, MailOnline saw a dozen different signs that were almost completely the same
It is believed the beggars are all part of the same Romanian crime gang targeting kind-hearted Brits in the run-up to Christmas
Almost all of the signs have oddly positioned hyphens between the words
Despite many of the signs claiming the beggars are hungry, officials said they were only really wanting money
Most of the beggars had paper or plastic cups for passersby to put change into
Each sign was made out of brown or white cardboard, with the words written in black marker pen
Security guards in upmarket shops along Oxford and Regent Streets said it was well known that these Romanian beggars were part of a gang of miscreants
A guard at the Apple Store on Regent Street said: ‘For sure they have someone who’s dropping them off. They have a boss. They look organised. Someone is taking the money later’
A worry for businesses in the area is also whether tourists will be put off shopping because of the beggars
Yet despite the police and other authorities moving the beggars on, they seem to keep returning
Each beggar can reportedly make more than £100 a day, meaning if they pool their earnings, gang bosses could make thousands every day
Other signs were surrounded by crutches and even a brown inhaler
Although her sign had the same phrases and handwriting in black marker pen on cardboard as 11 other signs seen that day, she denied she was part of an organised group.
MailOnline reporters saw her move locations during the day, begging for money as well as chatting to other beggars – one of whom was wearing a backpack that’s pattern was a sea of dollar bills.
Security guards in upmarket shops along Oxford and Regent Streets said it was well known that these Romanian beggars were part of a gang of miscreants.
A guard at the Apple Store on Regent Street said: ‘For sure they have someone who’s dropping them off. They have a boss. They look organised. Someone is taking the money later.’
A worry for businesses in the area is also whether tourists will be put off shopping because of the beggars.
This woman was seen beside her sign and a shopping trolley on Oxford Street
Down the road, another beggar was seen beside a similar sign
Later, the pair were seen chatting away and then both moved location at the same time
A woman with a blue blanket similar to one of the other men was seen in central London with another of the signs
A shoe seller at Dune said: ‘It’s the same group. They’re always coming together and they’ll sometimes be up at Marble Arch.
‘Usually they gather up there to chill. I see them with smartphones, not cheap ones, and they are on Facetime, shouting.
‘Sometimes we get big arguments – sometimes they’ll be arguing throughout the day, making a scene.’
Yet while these gangs rake in hundreds a day, people who are actually homeless and in need are left helpless.
Jason, 34, is an Australian engineer with two degrees who sleeps rough on Oxford Street.
He said he earned £100,000-a-year working for a motorsports company until he started getting seizures, had to leave his job and used all his money on treatment.
His only relative back in Australia died, and he was left penniless with no way home.
When he spoke to a homelessness charity for help, he said they told him there was little they could do as his visa didn’t allow him access to public funds.
Although immigrants are allowed access, since he has a valid work visa, his application for help has been denied.
And even when he turned to the streets, the Romanian gangs have a monopoly on the best spots for begging.
Jason said he went to charities for help but they told him one of the only ways he would get aid as a foreigner was if he was an immigrant.
He said: ‘I asked, ”What do I need to do for you to help me? What, do I need to go over to France and come back on a dinghy over the Channel?
‘The guy replied, ”Yeah, pretty much.”
‘I wanted to punch him in the face. They just won’t help you. It’s unfair. It’s terrible.’
Although he’s only been living on the streets for a year, he said he had seen how the Romanian gangs worked.
He said: ‘I was near Zimbabwe House [on the Strand] on Friday and [the gang of Romanians] all bundled into a BMW.
‘They’re taking advantage of the situation.
‘I think they’re on drugs or they get a small amount of what they earn but they are put in that position where there is nothing else to grab onto and they take it.
‘And because they’re vulnerable, they do get taken advantage of and they are willing to do it.’
The Metropolitan Police said: ‘Police officers regularly patrol areas know for begging.
‘Our response can include enforcement against those begging aggressively and persistently but we aim to balance this with outreach work for those who genuinely need help and support.’
A spokesman for the Mayor of London said: ‘Nothing is more important to the Mayor than keeping Londoners safe and he is investing record amounts to support the Met Police, ensuring an extra 1,300 police officers on London’s streets to deal with community issues and concerns.
‘The Mayor is clear that officers should have the appropriate tools and resources to tackle aggressive begging and antisocial behaviour, but also to identify and protect vulnerable victims whilst going after the gangs who exploit them into modern slavery.’
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