CIGARETTES and tobacco stolen in more than 50 burglaries at shops and petrol stations across the Durham and Northumbria Police force areas have been recovered by police.
The tobacco was among a haul of property seized by police as part of Operation Forecourt.
A number of people were arrested and were last night being questioned by detectives at Wallsend.
The goods, worth several hundred thousand pounds, were taken in raids going back to March.
Detective Inspector Phil Butler said: "As a result of a force-wide initiative we have recovered a substantial amount of property.
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