MORE THAN 100 suspected thieves, drug traffickers and fraudsters from across Europe have been removed from the streets of Hampshire over the past five years, latest figures have revealed.

Hampshire Police has arrested and extradited 114 people wanted for crimes abroad since 2009, the majority of which were sent to Poland to face authorities there.

A total of 96 of the 114 suspected criminals were extradited to Poland using the European Arrest Warrant - a controversial EU justice measure which the government signed up to once again after a vote in the House of Commons this week.

Of those sent to European countries to answer allegations, 97 were Polish nationals, seven were of Latvian nationality and three were British.

A total of 25 were suspected of committing fraud, while 22 faced allegations of theft, 14 were accused of grievous bodily harm and 13 faces allegations of drugs trafficking.

The figures have been released by the Home Office to show how the European Arrest Warrant is used to remove convicted and suspected foreign criminals from our streets.

Without this measure in place, the Home Office claims that its powers to remove dangerous criminals from the country would be “significantly diminished”.

Home Secretary Theresa May said: “Thanks to the arrest warrant, more than 2,500 people wanted for crimes abroad are no longer roaming the street of Britain's major cities and putting the lives of law abiding citizens at risk.”