In a six-hour blitz on the Cambridgeshire-Lincolnshire border, police and enforcement teams stopped 25 vehicles, seized two for being uninsured, detained a man for immigration offences, and caught three overloaded lorries, including one carrying 6,080kg of tomatoes.
Operation Chambers, held on Tuesday (28 October), saw Cambridgeshire’s Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) and Neighbourhood Policing Team join forces with Lincolnshire’s RCAT to target motorists along the busy A16 corridor.
Vehicles were stopped and escorted to Thorney Road South in Crowland for inspections by the DVSA, DVLA, HMRC, Environment Agency, Peterborough City Council, and the UK National Rural Crime Unit.
Key outcomes from the six-hour operation included:
Over a six-hour period:
- 25 vehicles were stopped
- Two vehicles were seized for being uninsured and the driver not having a licence
- A 35-year-old man was detained for immigration offences
- Multiple trailers, horseboxes, and quadbikes were checked and ownership verified
- 91 untaxed vehicles were identified by the DVLA
- 16 vehicles were tested for red diesel compliance by HMRC
- Five waste carriers were inspected by the Environment Agency, with four being issued with advice and guidance
- Three large goods vehicles (LGVs) were prohibited for being overloaded, including one who weighed in at 6080kg and was full of tomatoes. A £200 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) was issued.
- One heavy goods vehicle (HGV) driver was issued a £300 FPN and reported for no operator’s licence after they were caught not using a tachograph card
- Three immediate prohibitions were issued by the DVSA – one to a car for having exposed tyre cords, one to an HGV for the driver mirror not having an adequate view to the rear side or the front, and one to a LGV for having exposed tyre cords, defective stop lamps, insecure seatbelts, and underinflated tyres
- One LGV was issued a delayed prohibition due to fluid leaking from the engine
Sergeant Tom Nuttall of Cambridgeshire’s RCAT, who coordinated the operation, said: “We understand the frustration of victims of crimes such as agricultural and machinery theft.
“Days like this give us the opportunity to work together to recover stolen property and disrupt criminal activity.
“This operation shows the power of collaborative policing in protecting rural communities and holding offenders to account.”
Peter Stark, enforcement team leader from the Environment Agency, said: “Those involved in waste crime can often be associated with other offending and are of interest to other agencies.
“Coming together on these days of action allow us all to maintain strong partnerships and share information while helping to protect the environment, communities, and legitimate businesses.”
