Eighteen members of an organised crime group have been arrested in the UK and Romania for allegedly producing fake travel cards for British trains.

Raids were carried out simultaneously on Thursday morning in London and Leicester, said Europol – Europe’s law enforcement agency.

Sixteen people were arrested in London and one in Leicester, while Romanian police arrested the suspected gang leader.

The raids concluded a year-long investigation into a group accused of producing fake travel cards across the British rail network.

British Transport Police started the investigation and worked in close cooperation with Romanian authorities.

It began when rail staff detected the fake tickets and alerted police.

The investigation revealed close to €20 (£17.7m) in losses for British transport authorities.

The members of the gang have been charged with crimes including fraud, cyber crime, and participation in a criminal organisation.

Further investigations into the group are ongoing, Europol said.

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