Inside police fightback against 'A66-linked' organised crime gangs that paralysed Middlesbrough

Heads turned as the long line of police vehicles took to the streets of Middlesbrough early today. Parents taking their children to a Catholic Primary school in Normanby looked around as our cavalcade of patrol cars and vans went past. The Mirror joined the biggest operation of its kind since the A66 tragedy. It was a crackdown on alleged organised gangs and drug dealers. Officers confiscated an axe, machete, cash and mopeds. Many wore the special badges produced for the funerals of PC Tom Clough and PC Matthew Blades - who lost their lives in the crash - as we gathered at 7am for the early morning briefing for Operation Artemis. More than 130 officers were involved in a series of raids across the Cleveland force area today. Five of the targeted properties were linked to 'precursor' offences that led to the tragic chain of events of August 22 that claimed seven lives. Cleveland Police officers had pursued a VW Passat carrying five youths. The pursuit ended when the car drove the wrong way on the A66 dual carriageway near Middlesbrough, killing PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough. All five occupants of the VW Passat, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, Jakub Matusiak, 23 and Michael Robert Cahill, 23, died at the scene. Supt Daryll Tomlinson, the Redcar and Cleveland District Commander, went out on one of today's early raids in the fight against the organised crime gangs. He said: "This operation is poignant in terms of the recovery phase following the tragic A66 crash and the subsequent murder investigation a week after the crash. "We brought all the parties together including the National Crime Agency and neighbouring forces to focus on drug dealing. "The serious crimes we have seen, the ramming of properties across Cleveland, are all related to drugs and organised criminality. "Today we are sending a message out that we are tackling these issues head on. "We will see high visibility patrols, crackdown on off road motorcycles, and specialist officers engaging with the community so they see us out on the streets. "We are looking at tackling the use of electric motorcycles and mopeds and other vehicles. "Their use for drug dealing is a real issue. We need to tackle the supply because these vehicles cannot be used unless they meet specific conditions." An electric saw and a special 'enforcer' mini battering ram were used to remove the front door of the first address we visited on the Spencerbeck estate in Normanby. A police drone was deployed overhead as officers removed the front door with the saw. The drone watched for any suspect attempting to escape on foot. The address was secured and searched before the Mirror moved on to a second address nearby. But the address was secured and searched without anyone being taken into custody before the Mirror moved on to a second address nearby. Six arrests were made in the early raids; another six were held by lunchtime. We travelled in a police transit van with a team of officers. A number of suspects were also identified for recall to prison or for failing to appear at court. Chief Constable Victoria Fuller spoke to her frontline staff just before they set off on the operation shortly after 8am. She said Artemis helped demonstrate how 'small but mighty' Cleveland Police was when they all worked together. She urged officers to reach out to the public to reassure them following the high profile gang warfare in Grangetown and South Bank. The A66 tragedy highlighted the need for police officers to show the public that the drug gangs will not win the battle to control certain areas. They rose to that challenge today, remembering the colleagues who served by their side. How many arrests were made today? Twelve arrests were made in the early stages of the operation. An axe, machete, and a quantity of cash were confiscated. A crowd turned out to watch as officers approached one address in South Bank near Middlesbrough, close to a property which was 'rammed' last month following the A66 crash. One local said: "It is good to see the police out on the streets. "But they do not have enough resources." That was a point reinforced by the Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey, who is lobbying the Government for a fairer share of funding given to the 43 forces in England and Wales.