GWENT Police teamed up with their partner agencies to target a range of criminality throughout Gwent.

The event - called Operation Tornado - took place from Wednesday, October 18 to Friday, October 20.

The first two days of the operation involved two check sites; one in Abercarn and the other in Newport.

Vehicles were taken to these to be checked to ensure any scrap metal was being dealt with legitimately.

The third day involved patrols along the A48 Coast Road in Newport to look out for any potential offenders.

This operation aimed to tackle anyone involved in criminal activity and primarily the theft of cable, metal, heavy plant and machinery.

The operation also identified dangerous and un-roadworthy vehicles along with those involved in benefit fraud and revenue evasion.

Officers also looked to tackle more serious and organised crime and used Newport Docks as a base to identify any criminals attempting to use the area as a gateway to enter the UK.

Officers from Gwent Police worked with teams from DVSA, HM Revenue & Customs, staff from the Department of Work and Pensions, Trading Standards and Licensing.

And officers from the Special Constabulary also assisted with the checkpoints and patrols.

Using Automatic Number Plate Recognition Technology, vehicles were monitored and stopped and the drivers spoken to for further investigation.

The results included five arrests, two for suspicion of obstructing police, one on suspicion of drug driving and possession of drugs and two for drug related offences.

In addition, 139 referrals were made by Revenue and Customs regarding tax evasion and 15 vehicles were seized for being used without insurance.

Leading the operation, Sergeant Andy Wiltshire said: "This was a very successful operation that saw officers from across Gwent Police including specialist teams working together with our key partner agencies to disrupt criminal activity in Gwent. Our aim is to make sure that any vehicles traveling on our roads are safe and roadworthy and anyone attempting to act criminally within Gwent is caught and dealt with effectively.”