A SUSPECTED crime ring thought to be responsible for a spate of recent burglaries in St Albans and Harpenden was infiltrated by police this morning (Thursday). In a series of raids, attended by the Herts Advertiser, police arrested five people at differen

A SUSPECTED crime ring thought to be responsible for a spate of recent burglaries in St Albans and Harpenden was infiltrated by police this morning (Thursday).

In a series of raids, attended by the Herts Advertiser, police arrested five people at different addresses in Luton and executed search warrants of the properties.

The operation, which carried out by officers from Herts' central area tactical team alongside officers from Bedfordshire Police, followed a phase of intelligence gathering on the suspects.

Although the primary aim was to target those responsible for burglaries in the district, the police officers and a sniffer dog also searched the properties for drugs and one 42-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of possessing a Class B drug.

A 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary, another 34-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary and breach of bail, a 21-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy to burgle and a 19-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and failure to appear at court. All were from Luton.

Central Area Tactical Team Inspector Nick Caveney, said: “Hertfordshire does not have a significant burglary problem; however St Albans and Harpenden have recently suffered a number of burglaries, believed to have been committed by offenders from Bedfordshire, and this operation aimed to tackle these people directly and stop their criminal activity in our local area.”

“We are determined to keep our crime levels low. I hope that the arrests made today show our commitment to tackling burglary and sends out a strong message to anyone tempted to come into the county to commit crime, that we will relentlessly pursue you week after week to protect Hertfordshire’s borders.”

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