Police make six arrests in Craven and Harrogate operation

A drug warrant, antisocial behaviour patrols, rural crime prevention, retail theft deployments, a knife detection operation, seizing illegal items and public safety events were just some of the activities officers undertook yesterday.

Police seized these illegal items during Operation Tornado on Wednesday (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

Six people were arrested during the operation Wednesday (October 9) in connection with serious crimes including drug offences, money laundering, assault, burglary and theft.

A further three were arrested by Operation Tornado teams in the early hours of this morning on suspicion of vehicle theft, and two stolen vehicles have been recovered.

Police made six arrests during Operation Tornado on Wednesday (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

Superintendent Teresa Lam, whose command area covers Craven and Harrogate district, said: “Op Tornado has allowed us to give a big push to the issues that the community are telling us affect them.

“Issues like drugs, burglary, road safety, shoplifting and rural crime can have a massive impact on people’s lives in Craven and Harrogate.

A large number of police attended a briefing about Operation Tornado (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

“So operations like this really help us work with people who live and work here, to tackle the issues that matter most.

“The response from the community has been fantastic and I’d like to thank everyone who’s worked with us to make it a success.”

Attending the operation in Knaresborough and Craven yesterday, Chief Constable Tim Forber said: “Operation Tornado is about using the full force of North Yorkshire Police to deal with the issues that matter most to communities.

“It’s really important that the public know that North Yorkshire Police is on their side.

“And if you’re a criminal in North Yorkshire, you need to know that we’re out and about undertaking activities that will make it as difficult as possible for you to operate.”

Operation Tornado moves around North Yorkshire, to make life even tougher for criminals and safer for residents.

As a result of Operation Tornado in Craven and Harrogate yesterday: Plain clothes and uniformed deployments in Skipton town centre tackled shoplifting and shared security advice. One man was arrested on suspicion of shop theft.

The police also visited more than 50 shops and homes to encourage people to sign up and get crime prevention notifications from our Community Messaging service.

Also in Skipton, we seized around £1,000 of illegal and potentially dangerous vape and tobacco products from shops in a joint operation with Trading Standards.

The police also held personal safety displays on the High Street, working with the Community Safety Hub and public safety officers, along with five visits to five licensed premises to raise awareness of drink spiking.

Rural patrols took place for farms and other remote areas around Ingleton, Settle and the Craven/West Yorkshire border, including night patrols with Rural Watch volunteers.

An operation to identify criminals travelling around Harrogate, Settle, Skipton, Ingleton and Grassington led to three suspected car thieves being arrested, with two stolen cars recovered. Two vehicles were also seized for being driven illegally, and a drink driver and drug driver have been arrested in the area.

We also ran road safety operations on key routes around Craven, including vehicle safety checks with the DVLA.

Targeted patrols around key areas where burglary or antisocial behaviour has been recorded or reported by the community led to a youth being taken into custody on suspicion of burglary in the Skipton area.

And a drugs warrant in Knaresborough resulted in a man in his 30s being arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply, money laundering and possession of criminal property. A large amount of cash was recovered and seized.

Other arrests included a wanted man, a man suspected of assault and a man who breached a court order.

Our co-ordinated push yesterday is a way to hone in on the things that matter most to people while working closely with the community.