Fugitives evading police for two years arrested in North East ‘Most Wanted’ crackdown

Nine people have been arrested as part of targeted activity to track down the most wanted suspects across Northumberland and North Tyneside.

Across the weekend, Northumbria Police arrested a number of people believed to be evading arrest.

Working alongside local neighbourhood officers, intelligence teams identified the ‘Most Wanted’ across the boroughs and identified where the suspects were believed to be staying.

And over the weekend searches were carried out to track down the fugitives.

The activity saw six wanted people arrested for a range of offences, including failure to appear for court warrants, theft, arson and prison recall.

Two men had been evading police arrest for almost two years and a 43-year-old man was arrested and transported back to prison after breaching the terms of his licence.

A 35-year-old man was also arrested after being spotted by officers in Backworth area of North Tyneside. At the same time, a 51-year-old man was also arrested for assisting an offender, and, following a search of a related premises, two females – aged 29 and 21 – were arrested for drug-related offences.

A further three people have been arrested in connection with other offences.

Detective Chief Inspector Rebecca Fenney-Menzies, of Northumbria Police’s Intelligence Team, oversaw the activity and today praised the efforts of officers and staff.

She said: “This was an exceptional effort between officers and staff and, thanks to their efforts, one person has been returned to prison and the rest will have their day in court.

“Several of these arrests were only possible because of information passed to us by you – members of the public – and I want to extend my thanks on behalf of Northumbria Police and ask that you please continue to support us.

“Some of these fugitives we arrested were deemed high-risk in our area and I am delighted that so many have now been located.

“They have been purposely evading police and it is thanks to the tenacity of our officers that they have been brought into custody.”

Ch Insp Fenney-Menzies continued: “Two of these fugitives had been wanted for a number of years, but the message should be clear to anyone actively evading arrest that we will never stop looking for you.

“You should always be looking over your shoulder and always be expecting a knock on your door – it’s only a matter of time before we bring you into custody.”

Anyone with information about the whereabouts of an individual who is wanted by police can contact officers by calling 101. You can also report online at the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of the Northumbria Police.