Cleveland Police arrest 17 in raids linked to A66 crash and organised crime
Cleveland Police have arrested 17 people in Operation Artemis raids, part of a wider investigation into organised crime after the A66 crash that has led to 43 arrests and 14 charges.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Cleveland Police have carried out a series of early morning raids across Middlesbrough and Teesside, targeting suspected organised crime groups and drug dealing under Operation Artemis.
About 130 officers were involved, including some from the National Crime Agency, with support from other forces. Officers executed search warrants at multiple addresses. Police said four addresses were searched under warrants and five more were targeted in relation to individuals linked to the A66 crash investigation. In the first two hours, more than 12 people were arrested. The force later said 17 people had been arrested on suspicion of offences including drugs and assault. At one property on the Spencer Beck estate, four arrests were made after intelligence suggested drug dealing. Police also seized dangerous weapons and found what is believed to be a banned breed of dog.
The operation is part of a wider investigation into serious organised crime after the A66 crash on 22 August. A car was driven the wrong way along the dual carriageway, killing Cleveland Police officers Matthew Blades and Tom Clough, and all five young men in the oncoming car. Police have said the incident has significant links to serious organised crime involving feuding gangs. Since the crash, 43 arrests and 14 charges have been made in connection with the incident. Over the last month, 34 people had already been arrested as part of the wider investigation before the latest raids.
Superintendent Daryl Tomlinson said the arrests were linked to the controlled supply of drugs and that the operation was about taking the fight back to criminals. He said police wanted to reduce the fear of crime, increase trust and confidence, and show communities that officers would tackle criminality head on. Police said work would continue through the early hours and into the next morning.
The raids followed weeks of tension in parts of Teesside. Residents and community workers described long standing problems with drug dealing, antisocial behaviour and gang violence. Police have also pointed to intimidation, including family homes being rammed by vehicles, and the threat of reprisals against neighbours. Cleveland Police said the area has the highest crime rate per capita in England, and the force has faced questions about its future under proposed reforms. The force has asked for an extra £20 million. After the fatal crash, the Home Office gave it an extra £2 million. Local representatives said mergers with neighbouring forces would not solve the problem and argued that the funding formula should account for deprivation, poverty and crime rates rather than population size.
Cleveland Police has also used new tactics in its response. It became the first force in the north of England to use drones as first responders in the fight against antisocial behaviour. Officers from South Yorkshire have been assisting through a mutual aid programme, as Cleveland Police say they are vastly under-resourced. Residents told reporters that more visible policing was needed, while community groups said investment in youth facilities and opportunities was important to prevent young people being drawn into crime.
The force described the raids as a show of force and a message to criminals that they cannot hide. The operation is ongoing.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Widely reported · 4 or more of 5 channels | |||||
| Police made multiple arrests and charges in Operation Artemis and the wider A66 crash investigation, with reported figures varying. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Reported by Sky News | |
| Reported by a few · 2–3 channels | |||||
| Operation Artemis involved around 100 to 130 officers, including National Crime Agency and officers from across the UK. | Reported by Channel 5 | Reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News |
| Cleveland Police requested £20 million in additional funding, while the government offered £2 million. | Not reported by BBC One | Reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Operation Artemis deployed more than 130 officers to the streets of Teesside. | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| The initial arrests were part of a series of raids across multiple locations that resulted in 17 arrests in total. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | ||
| Only on one channel | |||||
| A crash on the A66 on 22 August killed PC Tom Clough, Matthew Blades and all five occupants of the other car. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Cleveland became the first force in the North of England to use drones as first responders against antisocial behaviour. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Cleveland has England's highest per-capita crime rate, and its police force faces an existential threat from proposed reform. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Cleveland Police made at least 12 arrests during raids in the Middlesbrough area. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| Four arrests were made at a property after intelligence indicated drug dealing. | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Local police said a proposed merger with Northumbria and Durham would still leave the three forces 584 officers short of 2010 staffing levels. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by ITV | Not reported by Sky News | |
| Police searched four addresses under warrant and targeted five others in connection with the A66 crash investigation. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
| South Yorkshire officers assisted Cleveland Police through a mutual aid programme because the force said it was under-resourced. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by Sky News | |
| The police operation focused on the Grange Town area and targeted organised crime and drug supply. | Not reported by Channel 5 | Not reported by BBC One | Not reported by Channel 4 | Not reported by ITV | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News focused on the raid as an ongoing police response four weeks after the A66 crash. It highlighted drug supply, organised crime and the fear caused by intimidation and reprisals. Its correspondent was embedded on the operation and interviewed Superintendent Daryl Tomlinson.
- “This is an ongoing Operation from the Cleveland Police, but it comes of course four weeks after that horrific car crash on the A66 in Middlesbrough which claimed seven lives including two police officers”
- “We've seen family homes rammed by vehicles in Several locations. Yeah, how do you stop that that tactic of intimidation?”
- “We want to reduce the fear of crime and we want to increase the trust and confidence that police that the police can have on communities”
5 News gave a behind the scenes view of the raids and framed them as a police show of force in Middlesbrough. It focused on the Spencer Beck estate, community concerns about antisocial behaviour and the funding gap facing Cleveland Police. Residents and a local youth worker said more investment and visible policing were needed.
- “Today has all been about police showing its force, showing us that they've got a firm grip on the level of crime facing Middlesbrough at the moment.”
- “They asked for £20 million of extra funding. The government said, look, we can give you £2 million.”
- “The area has changed. Lack of facilities, lack of opportunities for children to engage with facilities.”
Channel 4 News put the raids in the context of a policing and funding crisis. It examined the force's survival, proposed mergers and the area's high crime rate, while also reporting arrests linked to the killing of two officers. The report gave space to arguments about deprivation, underfunding and the need for resources rather than structural reform.
- “This is the part of England with the highest crime rate in the country, with the police force under existential threat from proposed reform.”
- “I don't think mergers is the answer. I think it's a red herring. I think it's being used by the government to deflect from the fact that we just don't have the funding that we need.”
- “Today, arrests were made in connection to the killing of PC Matthew Blades and Tom Clough.”
BBC ONE West gave a straightforward account of the scale of the raids and the number of arrests. It stressed that intelligence came from the local community after the A66 crash and noted recent gang turf wars. It also set out the wider arrest total in the investigation since the crash.
- “This was one of Cleveland's biggest raids in recent years. 130 officers involved in a day of action.”
- “Much of the intelligence for today's raids has come from the local community, following the car crash on the A66 which killed two police officers and five young men.”
- “It's massively important the public needs to see Cleveland Police out in force, en masse, arresting people and making sure that they've got that visibility because it makes people more reassured about the work that's going on in their communities.”
ITV1 focused on the wider social problems behind the raids, including deprivation, unemployment and feuding gangs. It reported the highest arrest figures and highlighted community fear, under-resourcing and the use of mutual aid from South Yorkshire. Its reporting included night patrols and the use of drones as first responders.
- “One night on the A66 exposed a much bigger struggle one that plays out on the streets of Middlesbrough.”
- “I sleep the crowbars next to me. The key is in the door ready for me to go out as soon as anything kicks off because at the end of the day that is my family in there.”
- “This patrol is from South Yorkshire, here as part of the mutual aid program assisting Cleveland who say they are vastly under-resourced.”
Broadcast Timeline
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