POLICE have raided two business addresses and two houses in north Durham as part of an investigation into insurance and car hire claims made following vehicle collisions.

Around 30 officers from Durham Constabulary's organised crime team and the economic crime unit executed warrants at MJS Claims, an insurance company in Craghead Colliery Industrial Estate, near Stanley and a garage named PJ Auto Recovery, which is next door.

They recovered files and computer equipment from the two premises and conducted a similar operation at two houses in the Consett area.

One man, aged 41, was arrested on Friday and a second man, 37, was arrested today, both on suspicion of fraud and money-laundering.

The men, both from Stanley, were interviewed at Durham police station and released on police bail pending further enquiries.

The police action follows the launch on Monday, April 19, of Operation Sledgehammer, an ongoing campaign to target organised crime groups across the Durham Constabulary area.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chapman, who is overseeing the operation said: "This investigation has been in the planning for a number of months. We have been looking into allegations of fraudulent or vastly inflated insurance claims which in total could involve fraud offences coming to hundreds of thousands of pounds. Our enquiries are ongoing."