Five police raids yield two arrests in burglary sting

Police have executed five warrants and arrested two people as part of a police operation targeting burglaries in the Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and North Wales areas.

Operation Coliseum is a large scale conspiracy investigation by officers from Merseyside Police’s Operation Castle team into more than 30 burglaries and attempt burglaries between 15^th January and 5^th April this year in which high performance motor vehicles and jewellery were stolen.

The properties targeted on Merseyside include homes in Formby, Birkdale, Southport, Blundellsands and Hightown.

Today officers executed five warrants – four on Merseyside and one in Greater Manchester. Officers have also been working alongside One Vision Housing to carry out searches of unoccupied garages in the Netherton area as part of the investigation.

As a result two people have been arrested for conspiracy to commit burglary.

They are:

A 30 year-old from Netherton

A 31 year-old from Bolton, Greater Manchester

They are both currently in custody where they will be questioned by detectives.

Detective Inspector Tony O’Brien said: “This is an extensive investigation into more than 30 burglaries that took place across the North West region between January and April this year.

“The Op Castle team has spent considerable time carrying out enquiries in relation to the burglaries in conjunction with our colleagues in neighbouring forces which has led to today’s warrants.

“We regularly act on information from those communities affected by burglary across Merseyside and I would encourage people to come forward if they know anything about suspected burglary and the sale of stolen goods where they live. If you provide the information we will act on all information provided. “

Always call 999 if a burglary is in progress. You can also pass information to the social media desk @MerPolCC, call 101 or you can call or the independent charity @CrimestoppersUK anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Further advice on keeping your home secure can be found here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/residential-burglary/