THREE suspected burglars accused of raiding a café, takeaway and pub within an hour were arrested after being chased down by fast-thinking police officers.
Shortly before 1am this morning (May 18), police were alerted to a break-in at Zachos Café Bistro in the Chester Road area of Sunderland.
It was reported that offenders had gained access to the shop before making off from the scene in a white Transit van.
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Similar burglaries were reported a short time later at a takeaway on Windsor Terrace and at the Cherry Tree pub in Ayton, Washington, where a fruit machine had been stolen and a juke box damaged.
Suspecting all three incidents were linked, officers from Northumbria Police’s Motor Patrols department were deployed with the support of the National Police Air Service (NPAS) and the Force’s Dog Section.
Later in the morning, a white Transit van believed to have been used by the offenders was spotted and pursued.
The three occupants of the van were seen to make off on foot in the St Chad’s Crescent area – leaving behind their stolen goods but were soon taken into custody by officers.
Two men – aged 25 and 24 – and a 30-year-old woman were all arrested on suspicion of burglary and remain in police custody.
A quantity of suspected stolen cash was seized from the van along with a crowbar believed to have been used in the break-ins.
Chief Inspector Mick Hall, of Northumbria Police, said: “This job required a huge amount of teamwork and coordination after several businesses were targeted within a very short space of time.
“We will not tolerate this criminality, and what followed was some outstanding police work involving several teams of officers. They worked together – with the expert support of NPAS – and were quickly able to identify a vehicle of interest that was travelling in the area.
“The occupants refused to pull over and later tried their luck in attempting to outrun us on foot – so it’s very pleasing to have been able to bring three suspects into custody.
He added: “I would like to thank everyone who played their part in reaching this positive outcome, from our motor patrols team who pursued the van through to our firearms support unit, response officers, Dog Section and NPAS. It was a brilliant team effort.
“We will continue to provide a robust response in our battle to tackle burglars and thieves – and are prepared to use every tactic at our disposal in order to bring effective justice and ensure the North East remains as safe as it possibly can be to live, work and visit.”
Anyone with information about the break-ins can contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of Northumbria Police’s website or by calling 101, quoting log NP-20220518-0066.
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