Two arrested after van driven onto Great North Run route and other bizarre incidents

On Wednesday (September 20), officers executed a series of early morning warrants at three addresses across the Birtley area.

Once inside the premises, searches were carried out and a slew of illicit weapons were seized, including several knives and crossbows, officers said.

A haul of suspected illegal substances was also seized, including paraphernalia related to drug-dealing and organised criminality, Northumbria Police said.

The activity was carried out under Operation Sentinel – the Force’s continued clampdown on serious and organised crime and came in response to a spate of recent incidents, including pig heads being pinned to a pub and a van driven onto the Great North Run route.

A 51-year-old man believed to have been involved in both incidents was arrested on suspicion of public order offences and another man – aged 23 – believed to have been involved in the Coach and Horses disorder was later arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and public order offences.

The raids were co-ordinated by a specialist team, who have warned those involved in serious and organised crime will be brought to justice and advised disruption to organised criminality is crucial in keeping communities safe.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: “Organised crime can devastate communities and is often spearheaded by heartless individuals only looking to operate under their own selfish agendas.

“This week, as part of our ongoing proactive activity, we were able to arrest two suspects while we also seized evidence that will prove invaluable moving forward.

“This planned operation was a result of months of intelligence gathering as we work to build a clearer picture into organised criminality across the region.

“The investigation will continue to identify and target anyone involved with further activity planned in the coming months.

“It’s important we continue our work so these groups are dismantled and can no longer operate, and we will continue to do all we can to identify suspects and bring anyone found responsible to justice.”

They added: “Community intelligence is vital to our policing approach, and we urge anyone with any information that could help us disrupt and dismantle this type of criminality to get in touch with us.

“We’d also implore people to report completely anonymously via the independent charity Crimestoppers, either by reporting on their website or calling 0800 555 111.

“We want to be clear that this activity will continue – and we make no apologies for our stance towards tackling this type of criminality.”

Anyone who has information about organised criminality can contact police on 101 or via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of the Northumbria Police website.