The Peterborough Evening Telegraph
Twelve arrested and drugs seized as police target road criminals
Crackdown is hailed a success
Twelve people were arrested and a “significant amount” of drugs seized during a police operation in Peterborough which saw officers stop 99 motorists. Thirty officers, 12 police cars and several motorbikes were out in force in a number of locations across the city on Monday evening as part of Operation Sentinel, which runs every six to eight weeks in places across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire.
The sting is aimed at cracking down on criminals who use roads and vehicles to carry out offending and sees officers use automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) tech- nology to target suspected offenders.
During the Peterborough operation, officers arrested 12 people. Five men were arrested on suspicion of possession of a class B drug with intent to supply, three men were arrested on suspicion of going equipped, two men were arrested on suspicion of being in possession of a class B drug, one man was arrested for driving while disqualified and one man was arrested for a public order offence (causing harassment, alarm or distress).
Officers also seized a quantity of what is believed to be Class B drugs.
Part of the operation in Park Road Peterborough was caught on camera by the PT’s photographic team.
Sergeant Adam Smith, operation lead, said: “The ANPR intercept teams had a very successful day removing 12 vehicles from the roads that were either uninsured or believed to be used in crime.
“Twelve people were also arrested and a significant a mount o f dr ugs were re - moved from the streets of Peterborough.
“All in all it was a good day for us and we’ve had a significant number of results. We’ve been hi ghly vi s i bl e on the streets of Peterborough and done what we maintain as our Operation Sentinel banner, which is to deny criminals the use of our roads.”
Anyone who suspects a crime is in process should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.