FIVE people, including two carrying £10,000 worth of drugs, have been arrested as part of an operation targeting criminals using the roads around Newport.

Gwent Police yesterday (Tuesday, September 4) joined forces with a wide range of partner agencies for the latest staging of 'Operation Utah'.

The operation is designed to deny criminals the use of roads in Gwent and crackdown on vehicles putting other motorists at risk.

Yesterday, police set up a checkpoint close to the Coldra Roundabout, between 8.30am and 4.30pm.

Throughout the day, hundreds of suspicious vehicles were intercepted on roads, including the M4, A449 and A48 Chepstow Road, by both police and the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA) before being brought into the checkpoint for a variety of checks.

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Representatives of HMRC, the Department for Work and Pensions, Immigration, Newport City Licensing and other agencies assisted, with driving licence, insurance and vehicle tax enquiries accompanied by checks for vehicle defects, benefits being claimed by occupants, any illegal use of red diesel, and any other warning or wanted markers for the vehicle or occupants.

The Operation, which has been running at regular intervals across Gwent for almost 15 year, is aided by Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) cameras, both in police cars and on the roads, to identify potential offences.

As a result of the stops and checks, five people were arrested - one for driving while unfit through drugs, another for driving while unfit through drugs, disqualified driving, possession of drugs, three counts of making off without payment and having no insurance, one for burglary and driving while disqualified, and two for possession of £10,000 worth of drugs with intent to supply.

Other results of note saw three vehicles seized for having no insurance or driving license, two vehicles seized for having no tax, three drivers ticketed for not wearing a seat belt, three for having no insurance, four for having no MOT, and 32 drivers reported for speeding.

 

Insp Matthew Havard, who led the Operation, said: "These Operations are a real joint effort between a variety of different agencies, in an effort to make our roads as safe as possible.

"We took a zero tolerance approach, and had some very positive results. I hope this sends out a clear message to anyone using our road network for criminal activity or in an unsafe and reckless way that this is not acceptable and when identified, they will be dealt with robustly.

"I would like to thank everyone that made this possible, and look forward to working together again on Operation Utah in the future."

Anyone with concerns about suspect vehicles or road users in Gwent can contact the Force on 101, or 999 in an emergency.