More than 70 vehicles stopped and nine people arrested in Ipswich during day of police action

More than 70 vehicles were stopped, 129 speeding offences detected and nine people arrested during a multi-agency day of police action in Ipswich.

The operation on Tuesday, April 22, aimed to disrupt and frustrate the activities of criminals and organised crime groups, who commit offences across county borders using the road network.

Vehicles which were identified as being potentially involved in criminality were taken to a check site at Sainsbury's in Hadleigh Road, where police and partner agencies conducted checks of the vehicles and occupants.

Police arrested four people: three on suspicion of drug-driving, one of whom was also arrested on suspicion of possession of cannabis.

The fourth arrest was a man who was wanted by Lincolnshire Police on suspicion of theft of parcels from a delivery company.

Five further arrests were made by Immigration Enforcement, who conducted checks on 51 people in total.

A total of 71 vehicles were escorted back to the check site in Hadleigh Road, with just 14 leaving clear of any offences, and 63 Traffic Offence Reports (TORs) were issued.

This included: eight for tinted windows; seven for being in a dangerous condition; seven for no MOT; six for no insurance; six for not wearing a seatbelt and one for a child not wearing a seatbelt; five for an insecure load; five for number plate offences; and four for using a mobile phone.

The Safety Camera Team deployed to roads in the surrounding area detected a total of 129 speeding offences, the highest speed recorded was a motorbike travelling at 81mph in a 40mph zone (along the A1214 London Road).

This brought the total number of TORs issued as part of the overall operation to 192.

The DVLA dealt with 10 vehicles. HMRC challenged 24 vehicles checking for illegal fuel. No offences were found.

Sergeant Alex Kelly, of the Roads and Armed Policing Team, said: “Days of action like this are vital in helping us gather and share intelligence with partner agencies, and are also a great way of intensely targeting an area.

“I have attended far too many collisions where one of the ‘Fatal Four’ elements was a contributing factor, some of which have resulted in the loss of a loved one.

“The motorcyclist caught travelling at more than twice the speed limit is an example of the extreme dangers posed by some people using our roads.”

Tim Passmore, Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, added: “The number of arrests and traffic offences recorded show just how valuable these multi-agency days of actions are

“I fully support these pro-active campaigns. They send out a strong, clear message to those who choose not to comply with the ‘fatal four’ that Suffolk Constabulary is on the case.”