Seven additional individuals have been arrested as part of an intensified effort to combat organized crime in the aftermath of a fatal collision on the A66. Cleveland Police confirmed the arrests on Thursday night as part of a probe into serious and organized criminal activity.
Four men, aged 35, 25, 40, and 21, are being held on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life after a vehicle was driven into a house in Middlesbrough. They are also being questioned regarding alleged arson after a caravan was set alight in Atlee Road and for a drugs offense. Officers located the men in a vehicle when they were stopped by police in Grangetown. A quantity of Class A drugs was seized.
The three other men arrested include a 23-year-old man on suspicion of threats to kill, a 42-year-old on suspicion of threats to kill and possession of criminal property, and a 30-year-old on suspicion of possession of criminal property.
These latest arrests bring the total number of detentions to 24 since the crash on Saturday, which resulted in the deaths of five young men and two police officers. Investigators have indicated that the occupants of the Volkswagen Passat, which collided head-on with a police car after traveling the wrong way down the dual carriageway, may have had connections to organized criminal activity.
The five young men who died in the crash were identified as Michael Robert Cahill, 23; Jacob Matusiak, 23; Makai Saddington, 18; Cole Worthy, 17; and Theo Rae, 17. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
Prior to the fatal collision, the Passat had been pursued by police following an incident where a house in the Acklam area of Middlesbrough, belonging to Cole Worthy's father, was rammed by a vehicle. The pursuit was discontinued when the Passat entered the A66 traveling in the wrong direction.
Authorities have stated that four of the five young men in the Passat had prior criminal convictions and were believed to be associated with another vehicle seen ramming properties earlier that same morning. Police also received multiple reports on the morning of the collision concerning two vehicles being driven dangerously. The first vehicle, a Volvo XC60, was reported to have rammed properties in the Middlesbrough area, with the second vehicle, the Volkswagen Passat, believed to be linked to those activities. Both vehicles were reportedly operating with cloned number plates but were detected by automated number plate recognition technology. The Volvo XC60 has since been traced and recovered in Middlesbrough.
Middlesbrough and County Durham have experienced a period of heightened violence since the deaths, which has reportedly made some residents hesitant to leave their homes. Detectives confirmed earlier on Friday that a house fire which claimed the lives of a seven-year-old girl and her aunt is not being linked to the A66 crash. Hundreds of additional officers have been deployed from across the country to help restore law and order.