Over 100 vehicles stopped by police in Ipswich area
A multi-agency day of action was held on Wednesday 2nd December
The day of action in the Ipswich area saw over 100 vehicles stopped and only 14 being clear of offences.
It involved a multi-agency approach involving Suffolk Police, the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA), Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS), Home Office Immigration Enforcement, HM Revenue & Customs, Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA), Environment Agency and Suffolk Trading Standards.
In total, 71 vehicles were escorted to a check site at the Tesco truck stop near Copdock roundabout, with 57 motorists found to be committing offences.
Officers arrested a 29-year-old man from Ipswich on suspicion of drug driving, who was later released under investigation pending further enquiries.
He was only person of four people tested for drugs who provided a positive result, while 33 motorists who were breathalysed were negative.
60 Traffic Offence Reports were issued for offences including no insurance or MOT, dangerous condition, careless driving, not wearing a seatbelt and using a mobile phone.
Suffolk Police issued a total of £1,600 in fines, the DVSA took three vehicles of the road immediately, and the DVLA clamped 10 vehicles for no tax, seized four vehicles, issued one warning and recovered £2,680 in fines.
Inspector Gary Miller, of the Roads and Armed Policing Team, said: "This was another very pleasing day of action, with officers stopping over 100 vehicles and dozens of offences detected.
"Operation Alliance provides us with a fantastic opportunity to work with our colleagues from the Seven Forces Collaboration Programme and means that we can deploy even more officers to patrol the road network and identify as many offending vehicles as possible.
"Having all the partner agencies present enables us to investigate the full spectrum of potential offences, as everyone brings a different skill set or enforcement opportunity.
"The fact that 57 of the 71 vehicles brought back to the check site recorded an offence, displays the value of these operations. Too many people are still prepared to take unnecessary and often outright dangerous risks by using vehicles which are either unroadworthy or defective.
"It was pleasing that on the second day of the Christmas drink and drug driving campaign, all 33 breath tests carried-out were negative. However, one person was arrested on suspicion of drug-driving, whilst driving a vehicle towing a trailer which was not properly attached and carrying an insecure load – that is a frightening combination.
"We will continue to hold these operations on a regular basis, to target criminals who either reside in the county, or are travelling through, and also to remove unsafe vehicles and people driving illegally, making Suffolk a safer place to live for everyone.”