Criminals who use Lancashire’s roads for serious and organised crime have found themselves in the direct firing line of the Roads Crime Team.

In June the roads policing department underwent a major re-model, which resulted in the creation of two new teams.

The Roads Crime Team is set up solely to tackle offences such as drug-couriering, money laundering, burglary, human trafficking and other serious offences where the road network may be used.

The team pursued a vehicle in the Nelson area, searching the driver and finding drugs. Officers then searched a house and found around half a kilogram of heroin.

More than seven kilograms of cannabis was also recovered from a Mercedes Benz that was sighted in Blackpool.

A vehicle was also stopped on the M6, which contained a carrier bag full of drugs believed to be worth in excess of £70,000.

Since June 19 the team has:

  • made 92 arrests
  • recovered 60 stolen vehicles
  • seized £144,000 in cash
  • recovered £208,000 worth of drugs

It has also assisted several other forces, with ANPR cameras helping the police quickly locate vehicles entering the county which are linked to criminality

The second of the new teams to be created is the Roads Policing Unit (RPU), which is dedicated to patrolling Lancashire’s roads and dealing with ‘fatal five’ offences including speeding and drink or drug-driving, as well as attending scenes of serious and fatal collisions.

Since the changes were implemented the RPU have:

  • issued 1,516 traffic offence reports
  • issued 121 section 59 warnings
  • seized 184 vehicles for no insurance
  • dealt with 301 road traffic collisions
  • made 152 arrests for drink or drug-driving

Both teams are aligned under the Specialist Operations (SpecOps) banner.

Assistant chief constable at Lancashire Police, Pete Lawson, said: “The results so far speak for themselves and we hope they send a message to all criminals.

"Whether they are drug-driving or bringing drugs into the county, we are determined to root them out and will not stand for them causing misery in our communities.

“It is a priority to make our roads even safer for the majority of law-abiding motorists.”

Lancashire's police and crime commissioner Andrew Snowden added: "Targeting dangerous drivers is one of my Fighting Crime Plan priorities as it comes up time and time again as a huge concern for our communities.

"Thanks to the Government's uplift programme, the Constabulary now has dedicated officers in two teams, both with a clear focus on targeting dangerous drivers, which is already yielding results with seized cash, cars and drugs, and arrests for serious offences such as drink and drug driving.

“There is a poetic irony that cash taken out of the pockets of criminals, is then reinvested back into communities through my Safer Lancashire Neighbourhood Fund, supporting projects aimed at reducing crime and anti-social behaviour.

"The message is clear, if you're a criminal using the roads, or you recklessly put yourself or others at risk, whether on our motorways, town, or country roads, you'll be stopped and feel the full force of the law."