Police from Bath stop-checked two vehicles, arrested four men and seized £40,000-worth of suspected stolen tools – hours before their owner had even reported them missing.
Officers acting on intelligence suspected the vehicles had been used in burglaries, and had been tracking the Vauxhall Corsa and a Ford Transit along the A37 from Bristol towards Bath early yesterday morning, Tuesday 2nd October.
When they stopped them they found the van full of Snap-on tools. Four men were arrested and are being held on suspicion of theft.
About four hours later a man called police to report that his work van had been broken into at the Burnett Farm business park in Keynsham and his stock of tools stolen.
The arrests were part of the force’s ongoing Operation Relentless, which is focusing on acquisitive crime including burglary, robbery, drugs and car crime.
Det Insp Andre Langford of Bath CID said: “This was an excellent example of police initiative and co-operation that allowed us to identify two suspicious vehicles, stop and search them and recover a significant amount of property.”
Relentless officers from Bath had another success over the weekend when they traced an iPhone stolen from a Bath nightclub to a house in South Wales. A man was arrested and cautioned and the phone returned to its owner.
Police are reminding owners of all Apple products to make sure they enable the in-built tracking systems.