Thames Valley Police announces 121 arrests during three-day transport crime crackdown

Thames Valley Police has confirmed 121 arrests were made during a three-day transport crime operation.

Thames Valley Police joined with a number of police forces to combat criminals who are exploiting the major road and rail networks. Officers from Thames Valley, Surrey, Sussex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Warwickshire, British Transport Police and the Metropolitan Police were involved in the three-day initiative from 16-18 January.

Officers used technology and police intelligence to target vehicles on arterial roads and motorways.

Thames Valley Police says the road network between force borders is often used to run ‘county lines’ drug operations. So the joint policing groups wanted to target offenders involved in drug-related harm and serious theft offences, such as burglary. The county lines drug supply model often involves moving drugs from bigger cities into rural areas and smaller towns.

The police force confirmed that over the three days 121 arrests were made, 92 vehicles were seized, and 19 weapons plus a large quantity of drugs across the force areas were confiscated.

Superintendent Andy Alexander, from Thames Valley Police, said: “This has been a very successful three-day operation. Officers from a number of police force areas were able to pull together their resources and proactively police our road and train networks to disrupt and detect some of our most serious criminal offenders.

“This operation was a joint effort and involved sharing proactive intelligence and enhancing existing relationships across different forces to target those involved in drug, gang and weapon-based violence.

“Organised criminal activity is not tolerated and offenders should know that police forces work together to disrupt them and to prevent them from disrupting our communities. We will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities.

“Information from our communities is vital in identifying and intercepting these serious criminals so please tell us if you notice that seems something that just doesn’t seem right. You can report a crime or suspicious incident online at thamesvalley.police.uk or by calling 101.

“Alternatively, you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers 100% anonymously by visiting www.crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling 0800 555 111.”