Lancashire Police road policing team crack down on organised crime

  • Video report by Granada Reports correspondent Ann O'Connor

A new team cracking down on organised crime says it has recovered nearly £150,000 in cash and more than £200,000 worth of drugs.

Lancashire Police's roads policing department has undergone a re-format with the creation of two new teams.

The Roads Crime Team will focus on cross-border criminals, including organised crime gangs, drugs-couriers, money launderers, burglars, human traffickers etc.

The Roads Policing Unit will deal with day-to-day issues on the road, policing the ‘fatal five’ and stopping drivers suspected of driving without insurance.

Lancashire Police says it has seized £144,000 in cash. Credit: ITV Granada

Since 19 June, Lancashire Police has already:

  • Made 92 arrests

  • Recovered 60 stolen vehicles

  • Seized £144,000 in cash

  • Recovered £208,000 worth of drugs

  • Intercepted a Mercedes that was sighted in Blackpool. A pursuit ensued and over 7kg of cannabis was recovered

  • Pursued a vehicle in the Nelson area and subsequently searching the driver and finding drugs. A subsequent house search turned up around half a kilogram of heroin

  • Stopping a vehicle on the M6 and locating a quantity of cash in a carrier bag, believed to be in excess of £70,000

  • Stopping two men who were using fake identity documents. One has since been imprisoned for 20 months and the other is awaiting sentence.

The new team has also recovered £208,000 worth of drugs. Credit: ITV Granada

Assistant Chief Constable at Lancashire Police, Pete Lawson, said: “These changes come as a direct result of feedback from our roads policing officers, who told us what changes they wanted to see to enable the department to operate as efficiently and effectively as possible.

“We know members of the public are rightly infuriated by dangerous driving and people who put others at risk on the roads, and we will continue to deal with this as a priority.

"However we now also have a new team which will be dedicated solely to bringing down those involved in serious criminality too.

“The results so far speak for themselves and we hope they send a message to all criminals – whether they are drug-driving or bringing drugs into the county – that we are determined to root them out and will not stand for them causing misery in our communities.

“It is a priority to make our roads even safer for the majority of law-abiding motorists.”

Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden said: "Targeting dangerous drivers is one of my Fighting Crime Plan priorities as it comes up time and time again as a huge concern for our communities.

“There is a poetic irony that cash taken out of the pockets of criminals, is then reinvested back into communities through my Safer Lancashire Neighbourhood Fund, supporting projects aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

"The message is clear, if you're a criminal using the roads, or you recklessly put yourself or others at risk, whether on our motorways, town, or country roads, you'll be stopped and feel the full force of the law."

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