Night of activity for Nottinghamshire police operation tackling rural and cross-border crime

Three suspects were arrested overnight after teamwork involving response officers, the Bassetlaw Operation Reacher team, and Nottinghamshire Police’s roads policing unit and road crime team.

Officers arrested two men and recovered a large haul of vapes after spotting, following, and stopping a suspected cloned van on the A1 southbound, near Colsterworth, on Tuesday, January 16.

It was suspected the vehicle was being used to commit cross-border crime.

Checks on the van confirmed it had been stolen from an address in Ripon, North Yorkshire, on November 21, 2023.

When officers opened the trailer curtain of the van, they found boxes of vapes which were suspected to have been stolen. Unused number plates were also found inside the vehicle.

A 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of theft and drug driving.

A 17-year-old boy was detained on suspicion of theft and possession of cannabis.

Also during the operation, Operation Reacher officers stopped a car in the Ollerton area and arrested a 30-year-old man on suspicion of rape and engaging in controlling/coercive behaviour.

A number of other vehicles were also stop-checked as part of the successful operation which will continue to target areas across the whole of the Bassetlaw district, with officers gathering and using intelligence and local knowledge to target anyone found to be breaking the law.

Inspector Hayley Crawford, district commander for Bassetlaw, said: “Thanks to some excellent teamwork during this proactive operation we arrested three suspects and made a number of seizures.

“I really hope our ongoing operational activity reassures the people of Bassetlaw that I am committed to tackling all forms of serious crime blighting our area. We will listen to any reports or intelligence we receive and use that knowledge to assist us when we carry out operations like this one.

“While we have already had a lot of successes as a result of our ongoing operation, there is still work to do and I want to once again ask the people of Bassetlaw to carry on speaking and working with us to help tackle issues that are of concern to them and to keep them safe from crime.”