Five men have been arrested as part of a police investigation into a North East conspiracy to steal quad bikes.
Police arrested the five males in the Hetton-le-Hole area of Sunderland last week and seized nine quad bikes suspected to have been stolen.
Officers believe that the quad bikes have been stolen from across the north of England and Scotland.
The five males were arrested in connection with the conspiracy to steal quad bikes. They have since been released on police bail and enquiries are ongoing.
The arrests were made as part of Operation Redwood – Northumbria Police's new initiative to detect and disrupt crime. It was launched last month and is being led by the force's Operations Department.
Over four days last week, a total of 23 suspects were located and arrested from across the force area – including in Byker, Sunderland and Gateshead.
They were interviewed in connection with a range of offences including the supply of Class A drugs, threats to commit damage and vehicle theft.
More than 35 vehicles were also stopped and checked by officers, with a number of drivers summonsed to appear in court, while targeted patrols were carried out to combat motorcycle-related disorder.
Sergeant Glen Robson, who coordinated last week’s activity, said: "The launch of Operation Redwood was all about hitting criminal cards, disrupting their activity and ultimately preventing further incidents in order to protect our communities.
"We’re absolutely delighted with the early impact it has made. In the days following its launch last month, we hit the ground running with stolen cars, motorcycles and jet skis recovered along with quantities of drugs, weapons and cash.
"Since then, we’ve also worked with our rural policing team to combat rural crime, proactively stopping vehicles believed to be using our less-travelled roads in order to carry out their criminality.
"Then last week, we built on that further by making significant strides in exposing a conspiracy to steal quad bikes across the North East, and it was a fantastic team effort in order to apprehend five suspects and uplift various stolen vehicles.
"Our enquiries into that conspiracy are very much ongoing, while work is being carried out across the full length and breadth of our force to tackle the issues most important to our communities."
Sergeant Robson said the force wants to get ahead of any anticipated rises and emerging issues. He said they are taking robust, decisive action to identify offenders and put a stop to any future spikes.
He added: "As ever, I’d like to thank everyone involved in Operation Redwood including our volunteers, neighbouring forces and partners. By working together, we can continue to make this rolling operation a success by continuing to make a real, tangible difference."
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