Thames Valley Police take part in motorway patrol operation leading to 70 arrests

More than 50 officers and staff from Hertfordshire Constabulary and its Joint Protective Services units took part in a three-day traffic operation targeting cross-border criminality.
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Operation Chicha was led by Hertfordshire Constabulary and supported by Thames Valley Police, Surrey Police and the Metropolitan Police Service.

From Tuesday 17 December to Thursday 19 December, officers from the Constabulary’s Mobile Scorpion Unit, Road Policing Unit, Safer Neighbourhood Team and local Scorpion teams in Three Rivers, Watford, Dacorum, St Albans, Hertsmere and Broxbourne focused on the county’s busy motorway network.

By proactively patrolling the M25, M40, M4 and M3 corridors, which span all four force areas, officers used ANPR technology to identify people and vehicles of interest and the teams made multiple vehicle stops, searches and vehicle seizures.

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A number of motorists were reported for various road traffic offences such as no insurance, with more than 15 vehicles seized, and a large amount of intelligence was also submitted for use in further investigations.

Over the course of three days, 70 arrests were made across the four force areas for a range of offences including burglary, possession of drugs with intent to supply and drink driving.

Hertfordshire Detective Inspector Mike Hanson, Silver Commander for the operation, said:

“I’d like to thank everyone who was involved over the three days for their support and professionalism. It’s a great example of how working in partnership can create a bigger overall impact on criminality and I’m really pleased with the results.

“I hope this operation has sent a significant message to organised criminals who are intent on using our roads to create misery for our local communities in the run up to Christmas. We are not a soft touch and we will continue to root out those who travel to our area to commit offences.”

Several other operations are planned in the near future.