Twelve people arrested over A66 crash that killed seven including two police officers

Twelve people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including being involved with organised crime as part of the investigation into events leading to a crash on the A66 that killed two police officers and five others.Cleveland police confirmed that nine men and three women were detained by officers investigating the events that led up to PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough dying when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way on the A66 near Middlesbrough collided with their marked armed response vehicle. All five men who were in the second car, aged between 17 and 23, were pronounced dead at the scene.Police said some of those arrested as part of the A66 investigation, whose ages range from 19 to 61, were suspected of various offences “ranging from possession of a firearm to participating in the activities of an organised crime group”, while adding that four of those killed in the car that hit the police vehicle had previous police convictions.The arrests have come as part of a “wide-scale investigation into the criminality which took place” in the hours leading up to the crash, which has involved the help of officers and staff from Durham, Northumbria and North Yorkshire police forces.As part of the investigation a Volvo XC60, believed to be associated with the activities of the passengers of the Volkswagen Passat, had been identified and recovered, police said.Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox said his force had engaged in “a fast-moving and complex investigation, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity” and claimed the “events of that tragic night will have a lasting and profound impact on the Cleveland area and the communities we seek to protect”.He said: “We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident, and to bring all those responsible to justice. Our robust response will continue in the weeks and months to come, as we continue to tackle those that seek to cause harm to our communities and tackle serious and organised crime.“Officers and staff across Cleveland have shown incredible resilience in continuing their work in the face of tragedy. Two of their colleagues lost their lives while serving the people of Cleveland and, while the impact will be felt by our people for a long time to come, they have continued to act with the utmost professionalism.“I am also extremely grateful for the support we have received, and continue to receive, from the public of Cleveland and our wider police family.”Cleveland police played down links between the crash and a reported increase in videos depicting dangerous driving being posted online, stating there was “no evidence to indicate that filming of the activities that took place on Friday night and Saturday morning has taken place for the purposes of TikTok”.