Police crackdown on vehicles

10:03am Thursday 11th October 2007

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MORE than 110 vehicles were stopped, 11 people arrested and 19 vehicles seized as part of a special operation involving four police forces and nine enforcement agencies on the M4 and M48 Severn Bridges yesterday.

One person was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs, three for driving while disqualified, three for possession of cannabis, two for possession of offensive weapons, one for being wanted on warrant and one for drink driving.

In addition, 16 vehicles were seized for having no insurance, one articulated lorry was seized for having a fraudulent excise licence.

Two further vehicles were seized by HM Revenue and Customs for using illegal fuel.

The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) has served 36 prohibition notices on unroadworthy vehicles.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is dealing with two people for benefit fraud.

Under Operation Utah Wales and West, around 15,000 vehicles crossing the M4 Severn Bridge and 10,000 travelling on the M48 bridge were scanned by special Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) units, which alert officers to any crime the vehicle or its occupants are wanted for.

In total, more than 100 police officers from Avon and Somerset Police, Gwent Police, Wiltshire Police and Gloucestershire Police, as well as 40 representatives from the DVLA, Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA), Border and Immigration Agency (BIA), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Trading Standards, Animal Health, the Highways Agency and InterRoute took part in the operation.

Inspector Mike Parr, from Avon and Somerset Police's Tactical Crime Unit, said: "This is the third Utah operation that we have run, meaning in total we have caught up with 68 people who had, until now, been flouting the law, and seized 59 vehicles which should not be on our roads.

"ANPR technology means we can identify people wanted for a whole range of offences, from possession of drugs to benefit fraud.

"Bringing together our neighbouring forces and the expertise of partner agencies means we can deal with the whole range of offences on site.

"We will certainly be looking to run similar large scale operations in future, including in other areas of the force, as well as using ANPR units on a daily basis throughout the region."

ANPR systems instantly check up to 3,000 vehicles an hour against various databases of intelligence. This includes information provided by police officers, Crimestoppers, the DVLA and other forces about vehicles used by disqualified drivers, people wanted on warrant and those who are suspected of committing crime.

If a suspicious vehicle is identified by ANPR, police units intercept to carry out checks on the vehicle and occupants.

The expertise of other agencies including the Border and Immigration Agency and HM Revenue and Customs can then be called on.