Drugs with £100k street value found in car after police chase

The incident unravelled shortly after 4.30am on Thursday (February 8), when a driver was seen acting suspiciously in North Yorkshire.

Officers in the area received an alert that the vehicle had travelled into the county from Cleveland. 

The force’s Specialist Operations team was deployed to the A1(M) and they sighted the vehicle at Junction 45, Boston Spa.

The vehicle was seen driving dangerously and continued on the M1 towards Leeds.

West Yorkshire Police’s Specialist Operations Unit joined North Yorkshire Police in pursuit and followed the vehicle at high speeds along the M1 motorway.

Officers were forced to make tactical contact with the vehicle as the driver was about to head down the wrong side of the motorway.

The chase was brought to a halt at Junction 38 of the M1 at Bretton.

A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a large quantity of what is suspected to be cannabis.

Damage to the police car (Image: North Yorkshire Police)

The driver, a man in his 20s, was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, drink driving and possession of a Class B-drug.

North Yorkshire Police said the drugs have an estimated street value of £100,000.

The motorist currently remains in custody.

Inspector Clive Turner from North Yorkshire Police’s Roads Policing group said: "This incident shows that we are out there 24/7 policing the road network and disrupting criminal activity.

"Criminals may not stop when they reach a county border, and neither does our response.

“Suspects may try to evade us, but we will use every tool and tactic at our disposal to remove illegal drugs from our communities.”