Op Myrtle: 12 arrests in Stockton during wanted day of action

The activity targeted individuals who were suspected of being involved in burglary and shoplifting offences.

Prior to the activity, officers had compiled a list of people they wanted to speak to and had information available to deal with them swiftly.

Following a morning briefing on Wednesday 26 March, detectives from CID along with officers from the neighbourhood policing team executed warrants and stop searches across the town.

It resulted in:

• A 46-year-old man being arrested on Wellington Street on suspicion of theft and following questioning has since been charged.
• A man, aged 33, arrested on Bishopton lane after being wanted on recall to prison where he now resides.
• A 24-year-old woman was arrested on Stockton High Street following an outstanding bench warrant and is due to appear at Teesside Magistrates Court on Thursday 27 March.
• A 54-year-old man was arrested on Stockton High Street following an outstanding bench warrant and is due to appear at Teesside Magistrates Court on Thursday 27 March.
• A 46-year-old man was arrested on Stockton High Street on suspicion of two burglary offences and theft from a motor vehicle. He is currently in custody.
• A 42-year-old man was arrested on Wolviston High Street on suspicion of attempted burglary. He has seen been released with no further action.
• A 31-year-old man arrested on Wolviston Road in Billingham on suspicion of actual bodily harm and has since been released on bail while enquiries continue.
• A 30-year-old man was arrested at Puffin Court in Yarm on suspicion of actual bodily harm and has been released on bail while enquiries continue.
• A 33-year-old man was arrested at Leybourne Terrace after being wanted on recall to prison, where he now resides.
• A 50-year-old man was arrested in Billingham town centre on suspicion of theft.
• A 44-year-old man was arrested at Letitia Industrial Estate on suspicion of theft offences.
• A 19-year-old man was arrested at The Square in Stockton on suspicion of burglary and is currently in police custody.

On top of that, officers also stopped and searched three people in Stockton town centre.

One of the searches led to a quantity of crack cocaine being seized and a woman was summonsed to appear at Teesside Magistrates Court.

There was also activity within the town centre with both uniformed and plain clothed officers conducting patrols. This is part of a new initiative called Operation Shield – a multi-agency operation aiming to combat anti-social behaviour and offending as well as supporting people to access recovery services.

It sees officers in Stockton alongside Stockton Borough Council, colleagues from Wellington Square, and Stockton BID, local recovery support agencies and other partners join forces to target substance misuse related offending and improve the perception of safety in the town centre.

Detective Inspector Carl Blenkinsop, from Stockton’s CID, said: “We went out in Stockton armed with information that would help track down individuals who were suspected of being involved in offences including burglary and shoplifting.

“While this activity is something we do every day, we wanted to highlight to the public the determination we have to capture those who impact local residents and the people who work and visit the area.

“The activity included various departments working together to make the operation a success and both uniformed and plain clothed officers also providing patrols in and around the town centre.

“I hope this provides reassurance to the community who can be assured that we will continue to target individuals to make Stockton an even safer place to live, work and visit.”

If you have information relating to a crime, please contact Cleveland Police on 101 or visit our website.

Information can also be provided anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.