Five men arrested in latest Op Target success

Officers on patrol at the weekend were alerted to some unusual behaviour near the Kirkby Industrial Estate, Birchill Road at around 11:30pm on the 23^rd November.

The officers attended one of the units, where the occupants were questioned. Numerous vehicles inside the premises were also checked, where it was found that one of the cars, a Land Rover, had been reported as being stolen.

The five men, aged between 27 and 36 from Kirkby and Bootle were all arrested on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. They were taken to custody for questioning and have since been released under investigation.

Inspector Jon Coote said: “This is a great example of officers acting quickly on their instinct in order to uncover those involved in crime.

“Operation Target is a crucial policing tactic used to identify offenders, locate weapons and make Merseyside a safer place for all, but we can’t do this alone – we need members of the public to carry on reaching out to us, giving us information and telling us what they’re concerned about.

"As well as this, if you know someone involved in robberies, theft or other criminal activity in addition to where weapons are being hidden and who is carrying them – we want to know about it.

“Anyone with information is encouraged to come and speak to us so we can first properly establish where these vehicles have come from and who they belong to and secondly continue to investigate others who might be involved in this sort of behaviour.”

Contact @MerPolCC, call @CrimestoppersUK or report online quoting ref: 19100649881.