POLICE have arrested 16 people in the first three weeks of a new operation to target rogue traders and distraction burglars in Suffolk.

Operation Seawolf was started last month and the arrests have come in Bury St Edmunds and Lowestoft.

The operation is led by the force’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition Intercept Team with support from road policing officers, the tactical firearms team, the territorial support unit and special constables as well as partner agencies including Suffolk Trading Standards.

Between August 23 and September 10 a total of 132 vehicles were stopped for checks and as a result, 16 people were arrested - 11 on suspicion of fraud offences, four people for other offences such as assault, burglary and criminal damage, while another person was found to have a warrant out for his arrest.

A police spokesman said: “In addition to this three cannabis warnings have been issued, 18 vehicles have been seized for insurance and/or driving licence offences, 32 fixed penalty notices have been issued, 17 people have been reported for summons on other road traffic act offences and one stolen vehicle has been recovered.”

So far officers have spent time in Sudbury, Bury, Ipswich and Lowestoft and there will be more work carried out in these areas and other locations in the coming weeks as the operation continues.