Six arrests made by North Yorkshire Police after approximately £53k worth of gin stolen near Malton

Six arrests were made by North Yorkshire Police after approximately £53k worth of gin was stolen near Malton

North Yorkshire Police’s specialist operations unit has made six arrests and recovered approximately £53,000 of gin following a distillery break-in near Malton.

At 12.40am on Saturday morning (November 23), a member of the public reported a group of men breaking through gates at a business premises near Barton-Le-Willows.

Roads policing officers immediately deployed to the A64 and sighted a HGV travelling westbound in close proximity with a car.

The team’s sergeant worked with the Force Control Room to strategically plot up various resources which included a dog unit.

A co-ordinated response led to the capture of the suspects

Officers attempted to stop both vehicles near Askham Bryan. The car was stopped by two units and the four occupants inside were detained.

A further unit attempted to stop the HGV, but the two occupants alighted from the cab whilst it was moving, before running across a live lane and then into fields.

A Police spokesperson said: “Unfortunately for them, hot on their heels was our police dog Rhun who worked with his handler for over an hour to track scent and follow footprints across various muddy fields and woodland for approximately 7km.

“Rhun, who doesn’t give up easily, rumbled again as he found two men hiding in a haystack.

“The men matched the description of the runners from the HGV.

“The HGV came to a slow natural stop in the live lane and as traffic was light thankfully it didn’t cause any damage.

“Inside, was over £50,000 of gin which is suspected stolen.

“A gin distillery in Barton-Le-Willows contacted us shortly afterwards to report a break in via the roof.”

In total, six people from the West Yorkshire area, two aged in their 20s, three aged in their 30s and one in his 50s, were arrested on suspicion of burglary.