Four youths believed to be part of a Newport burglary gang were arrested in morning raids (9th June).
The Operation Conifer team, who are dedicated to solving and preventing burglaries in Newport, deployed more than 30 officers trained in forced entries and specialist searches to carry out the raids on the burglary suspects.
Officers executed the four search warrants in the Maindee area of the city at 7am and arrested three of the male suspects, two aged 17 and the other 16.
The other male suspect, aged 16, was not at home at the time, although officers caught up with him later in the morning and arrested him.
All four suspects remain in custody for questioning.
Another two search warrants were carried out later in the day, although no arrests were made as the suspects concerned are currently serving prison sentences.
Officers recovered a large quantity of electrical items from the searched premises, mainly digital cameras and flat screen televisions.
Work will now begin to determine if the items seized can be matched to property stolen in burglaries.
Since Operation Conifer began 12 months ago, work by the detectives has led to 384 arrests of suspected burglars.
Nine detectives and four police officers are currently working on the Operation Conifer team.
Since the beginning of April 2010, the Operation Conifer team have introduced a traffic light system to target suspected offenders as low, medium or high priority.
Since the traffic light system was introduced, burglary numbers in Newport for April dropped by 28% in May.
After today’s arrests, detectives now expect numbers to fall further.
Detective sergeant Matt Sedgebeer, who is leading Operation Conifer, said: “We have adopted a zero tolerance approach and compiled comprehensive files of evidence against the most prolific burglars to ensure the courts put them behind bars.
“By using the traffic light system we have been able to identify the worst offenders in Newport and concentrate our investigative resources on them.
“Our proactive team of detectives has proved to be very successful and I want to reassure the residents of Newport that we know who most of these criminals are and we will stop those who haven’t already been put behind bars from offending.”
Detective Inspector Chris Watts added: “We are using a number of methods and reacting quickly to reduce burglaries in Newport.
“Our team is working very hard to find additional witnesses to burglaries and to gather forensic evidence to bring charges against suspected culprits.
“I can reassure people that those responsible for the majority of burglaries in Newport have already been stopped.”
Residents are reminded to keep their homes secure at all times and report anything suspicious, no matter how small, to Gwent Police.
One third of burglaries in Gwent are committed when residents have left doors or windows open or unlocked.
Operation Conifer is ongoing and anyone with information that may help burglary investigations should call Gwent Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
