THREE people have been arrested following a night-time operation which saw officers supported by their four-legged friends. 

Colchester’s Local Policing Team in collaboration with teams across Essex Police made three arrests and seized two knives on May 17. 

Officers were joined by the Operational Support Group, North Roads Policing team, the Dogs Unit and pilots from NPAS and Drones.

On the night, a cloned vehicle which refused to stop and sped off from officers was recovered. 

Gazette: Police - Essex Police officers seized a number of vehicles during a night-time operation on May 17Police - Essex Police officers seized a number of vehicles during a night-time operation on May 17 (Image: Essex Police)

According to police, the driver tried to run off after the Nissan Juke entered a ditch.

Thanks to the help of Police Dog Lando an arrest was made, while two discarded knives were found. 

Enquiries revealed the car had been stolen a day earlier. 

Throughout the night, a total of three arrests were made on suspicion of multiple offences, including drink driving, failing to stop, dangerous driving, theft of motor vehicle and possession of offensive weapons. 

Five vehicles were seized for no insurance, a stolen vehicle was recovered and 28 stopped vehicles led to ten traffic offence reports. 

Gazette: Seized - Essex Police found a ditched Nissan Juke on May 17Seized - Essex Police found a ditched Nissan Juke on May 17 (Image: Essex Police)

Organiser Sergeant Dean Young said: “We worked hard to protect our communities from those who want to cause them harm and by making arrests, we achieved that.  

“It’s thanks to the excellent cross-team work to deliver an impactive service for the Colchester District, we helped people, kept people safe, and we definitely caught criminals.”