Fifty arrested in organised crime operation after fatal A66 crash

Summarised from BBC Tees's report · Updated 15 Oct, 19:44 · Archive

Fifty people have been arrested as part of a wider operation against organised crime following a fatal crash on the A66 that killed seven people including two police officers.

Fifty people have been arrested as part of a wider police operation against organised crime following a fatal crash on the A66 near Middlesbrough in the early hours of 22 August. The head-on collision between a Volkswagen Passat and a marked Cleveland Police vehicle killed seven people, including officers PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, who died at the scene.

Ten of those arrested are alleged to be linked to the Volvo reportedly involved in driving into two properties. Cleveland Police said officers seized shotguns, handguns, machetes and ammunition, along with £60,000 worth of class A and B drugs and more than £30,000 in cash. Detective Chief Superintendent Helen Barker said the arrests targeted people 'associated within criminal networks that seek to cause serious violence and harm within the community through the supply of drugs'. Safeguarding interventions were made in relation to three children.

Read the report

• Fifty arrests in crime probe after fatal A66 crashThe arrests are made as part of a wider operation against organised crime after the A66 fatal crash.BBC Tees · 15 Oct, 16:43

In this story: Cleveland Police · PC Matthew Blades · PC Tom Clough · Helen Barker · A66 · Teesside · Middlesbrough

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