Cleveland Police arrest seven more men as A66 crash organised crime total reaches 24
Masked youths set cars alight during a vigil for the A66 crash, scenes that have intensified focus on postcode gang violence gripping Middlesbrough.Rival postcode gangs have turned parts of Middlesbrough into flashpoints for street violence, with the A66 crash vigil erupting into disorder as cars were torched.
Four men — aged 21, 25, 35 and 40 — were arrested after officers stopped their Mercedes on Kingsley Road in Grangetown on Thursday night. All four are suspected of criminal damage with intent to endanger life, arson and possession with intent to supply class A drugs. Three additional arrests involve threats-to-kill and criminal property charges; police recovered £15,000 in cash alongside class A drugs. The arrests are connected to the A66 crash on 22 August that killed PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, as well as five young men who were travelling in a wrong-way Passat. Cleveland Police's Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox vowed the "relentless pursuit of suspected organised criminals will not waver."
