A JOINT police operation targeting the North’s roads has resulted in hundreds of pounds worth of drugs and cash being seized in one night.

Five police forces took part in the cross-border crackdown, Operation Checkpoint, which ran from 3pm to 1am on Tuesday, November 25.

The aim was to provide reassurance patrols across rural communities, gather intelligence and intercept travelling criminals.

More than 80 officers from North Yorkshire, Durham, Cleveland, Cumbria and Northumbria Police, took to the roads, stopping 139 vehicles.

About 30 officers in North Yorkshire worked alongside colleagues across the Cleveland, Durham and Cumbrian borders along routes in the Stokesley, Yarm, Croft, Stapleton, Ravensworth, Stang, Reeth, and Grinton areas.

In North Yorkshire £600 worth of cannabis was seized along with £890 worth of cash. Arrests were also made, including;

• A 50-year-old man from Sunderland was stopped on the A19 near Crathorne and arrested on suspicion of money laundering. He remains in police custody.

• A 42-year-old Darlington man was stopped on the A19 near Thirsk and arrested for breaking bail conditions by entering North Yorkshire, he was charged with breaking bail conditions, driving with no insurance and driving while disqualified.

• A 31-year-old man was stopped on the A64 near the junction with the A19 at York. Officers found around £600 worth of suspected cannabis bush in the vehicle. The man was arrested and remains in police custody.

One person reported for summons for driving without insurance and a licence offence.

Intelligence shows that organised crime groups are targeting rural areas, moving across county borders in the north of England to steal goods, predominantly from rural communities.

Operation Checkpoint allows all forces across the north of England to share and gather intelligence about travelling criminals.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) technology played a big part in the operation, helping officers to identify vehicles linked to criminality.

North Yorkshire Police’s Assistant Chief Constable Paul Kennedy, who is also the Association of Chief Police Officer’s lead for ANPR, said the technology allowed them to disrupt people suspected of being involved in crime.

He said: “We recognise that rural communities face particular issues and this operation is designed to enhance North Yorkshire Police’s existing Operation Hawk, a dedicated team of officers who are deployed to rural areas and across borders to intercept criminals and protect our communities.”

Julia Mulligan, Police and Crime Commissioner for North Yorkshire, said cross-border criminality was a major issue with about a third of crime being committed by criminals from outside North Yorkshire.

She added: “Our bordering counties have higher levels of crime than we do and having the right tools to catch travelling criminals is vitally important.”

A rural crime booklet is available with information on protecting property, animals and equipment as well as useful contacts and information about watch schemes.

To obtain a copy, call into your local police station or download a copy from; www.northyorkshire.police.uk/ruralcrime