Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Saturday, 31st August 2024, at 11:00hrs
The car that originally failed to stop had cloned number plates and wasn’t insured.
Three women and two teenage girls have been arrested following a report of theft from a store in Blackburn.
The theft happened at Boots on the Townsmoor Retail Park in Blackburn on Thursday afternoon.
Officers stopped a car on the M65 after it originally failed to stop, and a search uncovered around four thousand pounds worth of items believed to be stolen.
In a statement released yesterday, Lancashire Police said,
“Just after 5.35pm yesterday we were called to reports of a theft at Boots in Townsmoor Retail Park, Blackburn.
Following the reported theft, the suspects drove off from the store.
Working with our Blackburn with Darwen Neighborhood Policing Team, Specialist Operations officers quickly located the car, which initially failed to stop, but eventually came to a stop on the exit slip road at Junction 5 of the M65.
The car had cloned number plates and was being driven with no insurance.
All five people in the car were arrested and the vehicle was searched. We found the stolen goods from Boots, totaling almost £700 worth of nicotine replacement products, nappies and baby food. In addition to those items, officers also found around £3,000 – £4,000 worth of goods in the boot.
The below five people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit theft and are currently in custody.
A 14-year-old girl, a 17-year-old girl, a 42-year-old woman, a 24-year-old woman, and a 60-year-old woman, all of no fixed address.
Operation Vulture is Lancashire Constabulary’s response to shoplifting across the county, backed by Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw and the Lancashire Partnership Against Crime (LANPAC).
The operation sees dedicated officers undertaking hotspot patrolling, increasing their visibility in targeted areas and creating strong partnerships with retailers across the county to better share intelligence, get a deeper understanding of retail crime and identify more offenders.
If you have any information about shoplifting, report it to us on 101 or online. If the crime is in progress, always call 999.
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