[T]hanks to the fantastic team work of three forces, four men have been arrested by North Yorkshire Police and Cleveland Police in connection with a number of high value vehicles stolen from West Yorkshire.
Two men from Middlesbrough were arrested in in the early hours of Friday 21 July 2017 by North Yorkshire Police on suspicion of conspiracy to steal cars.
North Yorkshire Police, working in conjunction with Cleveland Police, located a suspicious Ford Fiesta travelling through the region from West Yorkshire in convoy with a Mazda 6, on suspected cloned number plates.
Through the use of ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) officers tracked and located the vehicles.
Officers from the Roads Policing Group tracked the vehicles onto the A168 where the Ford Fiesta was successfully brought to a stop near Thirsk. The 23-year old male driver was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal a vehicle and driving without insurance.
The Mazda 6 failed to stop when instructed and made off in the direction of the A19, heading north. Officers successfully pursued and stopped the vehicle, however the driver managed to run off from the scene. He was tracked and found by PD Mario from the Cleveland arm of the Integrated Dog Support Unit.
The 17-year-old male driver was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to steal a vehicle, dangerous driving, failing to stop, driving without insurance and driving a vehicle otherwise in accordance with a licence.
The Mazda 6 was found to be a stolen vehicle, which had been taken earlier in the week, following a burglary at a property in Bradford.
At the same time as the North Yorkshire arrests were being made, Cleveland Police located and arrested a further two men in Middlesbrough in relation to another suspected stolen vehicle – a BMW taken from Bradford.
All four men currently remain in custody as enquiries continue.
