Northamptonshire Police joins operation cracking down on lorry thefts which sees 11 arrests across seven counties

Officers from Northamptonshire Police played a big part in a cross-border operation targeting lorry thefts across seven counties.

A total of 11 men were arrested during Operation Fuego and three vehicles seized — two HGVs which were believed to have been cloned and another one understood to be stolen. Officers working to help deter criminal gangs from targeting delivery lorries by ensuring police are present in hot-spot areas, especially after dark, and sharing reports and information across borders.

Jamie Culverhouse, the Northamptonshire Police lead for the operation, said: “This is a great example of what can be achieved as a region in the fight against crime and I am pleased that our real-time intelligence support resulted in these arrests and vehicle seizures. We absolutely will not tolerate organised crime gangs coming into our region committing freight crime, and we will continue to pull together with other forces to stamp it out.”

Officers from Nottinghamshire, Staffordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and West Yorkshire were also involved in the operation, led by Derbyshire Police. The 11 men were all arrested son suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft, document and driving offences while a number of other vehicles were also seized due to document, driving or traffic offences.

PC Johnathan Terry helped coordinate the operation in Derbyshire. He said: “The aim of the operation was to deter crimes affecting freight on our roads with increased patrols in hot-spot areas such as lay-bys or parking areas on major routes, while sharing information and existing intelligence to target travelling criminality.

“We tend to see a lot of lorries stopping overnight, and while most do so without any issues, there is an increased risk of HGVs being targeted.”

PC Terry added: “Working alongside other police forces in our region has helped us to achieve a successful operation to target crimes which not only has an impact on businesses, but for drivers who may fear being hurt and all of us who may see increased prices for goods and disruption to supply chains.”