TWO wanted fugitives who had previously evaded police found themselves in handcuffs this week after a string of dawn raids.

Northumbria Police deployed teams of uniformed and plain-clothed officers simultaneously from stations in Sunderland and South Tyneside for the pre-planned strike on Tuesday morning.

The operation focused on suspects who were wanted in connection with a range of offences from theft to domestic violence and went to more than a dozen addresses.

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Among those to receive an early wake-up call with officers at their door was a 34-year-old man from Hendon, wanted for breaching a community order. He was subsequently taken into custody and escorted to court.

A 36-year-old man from Sunderland was also arrested in connection with a range of thefts across Pennywell and South Hylton. He has been charged with theft and is due to appear before magistrates in South Tyneside next month.

Sergeant Dave Green coordinated the day of action and was pleased with the outcome.

“This is one of a number of operations which will take place over the coming weeks and months as we look to target some of the region’s long-term wanted suspects,” Sgt Green said.

“As a result of yesterday’s activity, we were able to locate two suspects who had previously evaded officers. One of those has now been charged and will appear before the courts, while the other was escorted to court after breaching a community order.

“We are committed to detecting and disrupting crime in our region, and operations like this – run by both uniformed and plain-clothed officers – send an important message out, not only to criminals but the wider community as a whole.

“If you have committed a crime and have evaded police, you might not need to wait for your alarm – as our officers might be at your door bright and early ready to take action.

“I would like to thank the communities we serve for their ongoing support, and would ask anybody who is a victim of crime – or who is concerned about issues where they live – to contact police.”

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