Three arrested after stolen van recovered

Three men have been arrested after a stolen van was traced into Stoke-on-Trent yesterday (Sunday 18 December). At 2.15pm, a Peugeot expert van was reported stolen from an address in Biddulph. We sent out officers to look for it and they managed to track it into the Hanley area. We used a range of tactics to bring the van to a stop at approximately 9pm on the same day. A 30-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and possession with intent to supply a class B drug. A 25-year-old man, of no-fixed-address, was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and possession with intent to supply a class B drug. They both remain in custody. A 28-year-old man, from Stoke-on-Trent, was arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of class A. He was released on conditional police bail while inquiries continue. It brings the total number of arrests for theft of motor vehicle in the last two days to five. Proactive officers tracked a stolen Saab in the Lichfield area this morning (Monday 19 December). They stung the car and arrested two men on suspicion of theft of motor vehicle. Detective Inspector Pete Cooke, from CID, said: “Officers across all ten of the local policing teams (LPT) in Staffordshire have been stepping up their efforts to target vehicle crime on a robust scale. “We’ve been patrolling hotspot areas, sharing intelligence with partners and proactively targeting those responsible so they can be brought to justice. “We’re seeing a lot of positive results recently and we are working hard to ensure they continue to be achieved.” To read more on our work in tackling vehicle crime, visit: New dedicated team appointed to tackle vehicle crime | Staffordshire Police