£100,000 worth of suspected drugs recovered on the M1

Police officers from North Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Police have arrested a man and recovered a large quantity of what is suspected to be a class-b drug.

At just after 04.30am this morning (Thursday 08 February 2024) officers in North Yorkshire were alerted to a vehicle which had been seen acting suspiciously and was travelling into the county from Cleveland. Officers from the force’s Specialist Operations team deployed to the A1(M) and they sighted the vehicle at Junction 45, Boston Spa.

The vehicle was seen driving dangerously and continued on the M1 towards Leeds. West Yorkshire Police’s Specialist Operations Unit joined North Yorkshire Police in pursuit and followed the vehicle at high speeds along the M1 motorway. Officers were forced to make tactical contact with the vehicle as it was about to drive on the wrong side of the motorway. It was eventually brought to a halt at Junction 38 of the M1 at Bretton.

A search of the vehicle found a large quantity of what is suspected cannabis with an estimated street value of £100,000.

The driver, a man in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, fail to stop for police, drink driving and possession of a Class B-drug.

He currently remains in custody.

Inspector Clive Turner from North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing group commented:

“This incident shows that we are out there 24/7 policing the road network and disrupting criminal activity.

"Criminals may not stop when they reach a county border, and neither does our response.

“Suspects may try to evade us, but we will use every tool and tactic at our disposal to remove illegal drugs from our communities.”