A NEW police operation has yielded results just days after it was launched.

The police team working on Operation Trident, launched in the East Cleveland area at the weekend, have already charged four people with conspiracy to supply drugs.

The hand-picked team of 40 officers say they have recovered a "vast amount" of stolen property, 85 per cent of which has been returned to the rightful owners after arresting a total of 30 people.

However, a warehouse outside the area is being used to house TVs, videos, hi-fis and golf and gardening equipment worth tens of thousands of pounds after initial raids. An amount of heroin has also been recovered.

Of the three men and one woman arrested, one is also charged with three burglaries and two thefts, another with five thefts and another 19 to be taken into consideration, and a third with a single burglary.

Detective superintendent Tom Stoddart, said: "Operation Trident will continue without let-up. We know who the criminals are and we are coming for them. Our raids on them will be unrelenting and we are confident this operation will have a major beneficial impact on the area."

Announcing the launch of the operation on Monday, Cleveland Police predicted that up to 200 high-volume thieves, some responsible for 50 and 60 crimes each, will be behind bars by Christmas. The operation took a year to plan.