Source: This is Leicestershire
A total of eight people were arrested yesterday in a police operation to tackle the underground trade in stolen goods. Police presence was high in Barlestone as a team of officers were seen around the Spinney Drive, Meadow Road and Bosworth Road area.
Leicestershire police detained the suspects in a series of raids across the county yesterday morning.
Officers recovered a range of electrical goods, a quantity of drugs – thought to be cannabis – and cash during early-morning raids. The suspects were arrested when police officers executed search warrants at 10 addresses in areas including Braunstone Frith, Beaumont Leys and Braunstone, in Leicester, plus Ratby, Coalville and Barlestone.
They were being questioned by detectives last night and further arrests were expected today. The action was the latest phase of a campaign called Operation Consequence, which was set up in September 2009 to tackle crimes such as burglary and theft.
The latest action was targeted at people the force believes are involved in the handling of stolen goods. The force kept the public informed of developments throughout yesterday by posting brief updates on the social networking site Twitter. Leicestershire’s deputy chief constable David Evans said: “There have been a number of phases to Operation Consequence and we have arrested more than 2,000 people since we launched it almost 18 months ago. “This is a key element in our strategy to reduce crime.”