Cleveland Police launch biggest crackdown yet on gangs linked to A66 tragedy
Cleveland Police launched their biggest crackdown yet today on the gang and drug ’turf war’ linked to the A66 tragedy.
The Mirror joined Operation Artemis during early morning raids on addresses across Teesside.
A convoy of police vehicles set off shortly after 8am, with roads cut off to allow the long line of patrol cars and vans to pass through swiftly.
Early morning commuters and parents on the school run watched the crackdown unfold on their streets.
More than 130 officers - including colleagues of fallen A66 armed response PCs Tom Clough and Matthew Blades in Matrix Command vehicles - targeted alleged organised crime members at addresses in Cleveland force area.
Twelve arrests were made in the early stages of the operation. An axe, machete, and a quantity of cash were confiscated.
A crowd turned out to watch as officers approached one address in South Bank near Middlesbrough, close to a property which was ’rammed’ last month following the A66 crash.
One local said: "It is good to see the police out on the streets. But they do not have enough resources."
That was a point reinforced by the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey, who is lobbying the Government for a fairer share of funding given to the 43 forces in England and Wales.
The move followed intelligence on ’precursor’ offences linked to the tragedy which claimed the lives of PCs Clough and Blades.
At least five of the addresses targeted were linked to Organised Crime Groups thought to be behind the events which led to the police chase involving a VW Passat.
The chase ended before the Passat drove the wrong way up the dual carriageway of the A66, collidin with the vehicle carrying the two officers.
All five occupants of the Passat, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, Jakub Matusiak, 23 and Michael Robert Cahill, 23, died at the scene.
Officers carry out a raid on an address in Normanby, Middlesbrough today as part of the probe into the A66 tragedy
An electric saw and a special ’enforcer’ mini battering ram were used to remove the front door of one address on the Spencerbeck estate in Normanby, Middlesbrough today.
A police drone was deployed overhead as officers removed the front door.The drone was to ensure that anyone who tried to escape on foot would be followed from the air.
But the address was secured and searched without anyone being taken into custody before the Mirror moved on to a second address nearby.
We travelled in a police transit van with Supt Daryll Tomlinson, the Redcar and Cleveland district commander.
He said: "This is a relentless day of activity. Teams will be redeployed following tours of duty throughout the day.
"We have warrants for arrests after identifying addresses linked to drug dealing and serious violence."
A number of suspects were also identified for recall to prison or for failing to appear at court.
Chief Constable Victoria Fuller briefed the officers before they set off on the operation just after 8am.
She said the operation helped demonstrate how ’small but mighty’ Cleveland Police was when they all worked together.
And she urged officers to reach out to the public to reassure them following the high profile gang warfare in Grangetown and South Bank, which the A66 tragedy highlighted.
Technology & Business Editor
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