Nine Arrested As Police In Shropshire Put Pressure On Criminals

Nine people have been arrested following heightened police activity in Shropshire, targeting burglary, theft and other associated crimes.

Police in the county have stepped up operations, targeting people suspected of carrying out burglary related crime.

Several arrests were made earlier in the week and more have followed today after a day of action in which six search warrants were executed at addresses in Shrewsbury, Whitchurch, Market Drayton and Ludlow.

In one strike, officers forced their way into a property at The Dana near Shrewsbury town centre, arresting two men aged 48 and 27 on suspicion of theft.  They remain in custody at Shrewsbury police station.

Further search warrants, granted by magistrates yesterday under the Theft and Misuse of Drugs Acts, were conducted at addresses in Whitehouse Gardens, Shrewsbury; York Road, Harlescott, Shrewsbury;  Salisbury Hill View, Market Drayton;  Castle Court, Whitchurch;  and Sandpits Avenue, Ludlow.

The warrants together with other police actions, conducted as part of West Mercia Police's new anti-burglary Citadel initiative, resulted in the arrest of eight men and one woman. 

Detective Inspector Pete Brophy, in charge of today's operations, said: "We will continue to step up our efforts targeting offenders and suspects who break into people's homes, carryout thefts or are thought to be involved in associated crimes.

"It's been a busy day today, but it doesn't stop here.  Citadel is an ongoing operation to drive down the volume of burglaries and to increase detections.  The good news is that burglary numbers have fallen in recent months following a spike earlier in the year and the number of arrests has more than doubled in Shropshire this year compared with the same period last year."

He added that more arrests were expected to follow in the near future as police focussed on domestic burglaries, one of their top priorities.

Other arrests were a 32-year-old Oswestry man on a warrant for failing to answer bail.  He was held in custody to appear at Shrewsbury magistrates.

A 29-year-old man has been charged with stealing goods from Shrewsbury's Marks and Spencer store and bailed to appear before the town's magistrates on November 8.

A 27-year-old man was detained for court on charges of failing to provide a sample for a Class A drugs test and for stealing an electronic toy from Tesco in Shrewsbury.

A 46-year-old man has been charged with stealing DVDs from Matalan in Shrewsbury and given bail to appear before the town's magistrates on November 8.

A 27-year-old man has been charged with stealing alcohol from the Co-op store in Upper Galdeford, Ludlow.  He will appear before Telford magistrates on November 5.

A 24-year-old Oswestry woman who failed to answer bail was arrested and detained to appear before Shrewsbury magistrates and a 31-year-old man was arrested at Bridgnorth for a similar offence and will appear before Telford magistrates.

Issued: Wednesday, 24 October 2012