35 arrests in dawn raids on scrapyards (From The Northern Echo)

35 arrests in dawn raids on scrapyards

8:00am Thursday 19th January 2012 in News By Dani Webb, Chief Reporter (South Durham)

POLICE have arrested 35 people on suspicion of money laundering following dawn raids on scrap metal yards across the North-East.

Hundreds of officers from Durham, Northumbria and Cleveland police forces, as well as British Transport Police (BTP), took part in the simultaneous strikes on a number of metal yards and homes as part of Operation Tornado.

The aim of the regionwide operation was to target metal thefts and those who profit from illegally buying or selling metals.

Trading has been stopped at J Denhams, in Shildon; Newtons, in Wingate; Wards, in Newcastle, Sunderland and Darlington; Pout & Foster Ltd, in Hartlepool; Grievsons and Jebbs, both in Newcastle; J & J Stanley, in Gateshead; and Robinsons, in West Sleekburn, Northumberland, while detailed searches are carried out.

The yards will remain closed while searches, which could take up to three days, are carried out.

The intelligence-led operation has been several months in the planning – and officers from all three forces warned of more action to tackle metal theft.

Deputy Chief Constable Mike Barton, of Durham Police, said: “We want to work with the legitimate dealers – however, we are doing this for those who have had to fundraise because the lead has been stolen off the roof or bereaved families who have had to replace the copper plaque from war memorials.

This comes from a small minority of dealers, but it is one of our biggest criminal problems.”

Northumbria Police Assistant Chief Constable Jim Campbell said: “Thefts are ranging from opportunist thieves stripping lead off a roof to gangs of organised criminals posing as legitimate workers and stealing miles of cable from utilities and transport networks.

“Last year in this force area, we had nearly 5,000 metal thefts. However, the thieves themselves would have no market for their stolen goods if it wasn’t for the metal dealers who buy from them, often knowing fine well that the goods are stolen.

“It’s important people realise that those running these yards illegally are organised criminals, making vast profits, while innocent members of our communities suffer the consequences.”

Chief Superintendent Dave Orford, who is leading regional operations against metal theft, said: “This should send a clear message to metal thieves and people who profit from dealing in stolen metal that their activities will not be tolerated.”

Paul Crowther, Deputy Chief Constable of the British Transport Police, who chairs the Association of Chief Police Officers’ Metal Theft Working Group, was in the North- East for the operation.

He said: “While in the longer term we are looking for a change to the legislation to make it harder for stolen metal to be sold, we will continue to work within the current legislation to target the business practices of those dealers who wilfully flout the law for their own gain.”

􀁧 Cleveland Police seized a large sum of money and arrested a director of a scrap metal merchants during a related raid at a house in Osmotherley, North Yorkshire.