THE largest rural policing operation in the country returned for its 15th strike in Northumberland last week.

Operation Checkpoint, which targets criminals operating on the roads, brought together almost 100 officers from forces across Northumbria, Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Lancashire and North Yorkshire.

In the county, the six-hour operation finished at 4am last Thursday.

During that time, a total of 19 vehicles were stopped and as a result, searches were carried out on three of them.

Officers seized a quantity of class B drugs, while another vehicle was seized because the driver had no insurance.

And in another incident a 41-year-old man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Police intelligence has discovered that organised crime groups from across the north of England are involved in thefts, burglaries, and handling stolen property, targeting rural areas in particular.

These criminals use their extensive knowledge of the road networks across the region in an attempt to avoid detection.

Operation Checkpoint targets vehicles with suspected criminal links by deploying officers and volunteers and using the latest tools such as Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology.

Superintendent Andy Huddleston said: “This time, the op used drone technology alongside thermal imaging spotters to track down suspicious vehicles.

“But what really makes the operation a success is the volunteers with their local knowledge who come on board.

“We had 18 volunteers including local gamekeepers, Forestry Commission and private landowners acting as our eyes and ears.

“They’re equipped with police radios and when they spot anything suspicious, they flag it up to one of our officers.

Supt Huddleston added: “It’s a great way to get the community and partners involved while also using their expertise of the area.”