TRAVELLING criminals using the North’s roads network were targeted in a co-ordinated police crackdown.

Operation Checkpoint saw Durham, Northumbria, Cleveland, North Yorkshire and Cumbria forces contributing to the targeting of criminals travelling across the north of England to the border with Scotland.

More than 100 officers from the five forces, backed by colleagues from partner agencies and volunteers, took part in Wednesday’s (September 23) operation.

The joint approach led to 270 vehicles being stopped, resulting in 17 motorists being dealt with for a variety of offences across the five participating force areas.

Seven arrests were made and £10,000 in cash, plus nine vehicles were seized.

The seven arrests were all in North Yorkshire, including five men from Stockton, who were detained on suspicion of poaching offences, near Knayton.

Four have since been charged with poaching and trespassing on land with a firearm, while the fifth was released with no further action to be taken.

Two vehicles being used by the alleged poachers were also seized.

A further two men were arrested on suspicion of possessing criminal property and possession of a class A drug with intent to supply, after a vehicle was stopped on the A1, near Tadcaster.

Both remained in custody today (Thursday September 24), while £10,000 in cash, recovered as a result of their arrests, was seized.

The operation was the seventh of its kind over the past two years and was designed to gather intelligence about travelling criminals, disrupt their use of the road network, bring anyone found breaking the law to justice, as well as to reassure countryside communities that police are tackling rural crime.

Farmwatch volunteers joined officers in rural locations looking out for suspicious vehicles.

Police tactics included the widespread use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to target vehicles suspected of being connected to crime.

Superintendent Mick Paterson, of Northumbria Police, added: “Working together with other forces, partner agencies and our communities helps us to continue to gather intelligence about suspected travelling criminals.”

Assistant Chief Constable Paul Kennedy, of North Yorkshire Police, said: “We know that some people are willing to travel many miles to come to North Yorkshire, using our road network to commit crime and prey on rural communities.”

Police tactics included the widespread use of Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology to target vehicles suspected of being connected to crime, as well as targeting vehicles seen in suspicious circumstances.