Traffic Cops S15E01 (14 Nov 2016)
Traffic Cops S15E01 (14 Nov 2016)
Transcript
00:00Britain's roads have become the front line in the fight against crime and disorder, from
00:08organised criminal gangs to the nation's worst drivers. And catching those using our streets
00:16to break the law is the job of the traffic cops.
00:19We can't win it. Stop. Do not resist.
00:22Crash, crash, crash. Chase it on foot.
00:25We'll all chase them and we'll get hold of them and we'll go wherever we need to go to
00:28stop you.
00:29Tonight on Traffic Cops, drug deals.
00:32That might be a deal going down.
00:33Maybe ten wraps of heroin, maybe crack.
00:36Drug drivers.
00:37You having a cocaine today?
00:38No.
00:39And hazardous high speed chases.
00:42Michael's already rammed me.
00:43Stand by, stand by. Back towards Huddersfield Road.
00:46He's had a collision with a member of the public. Speed 100.
00:51Welcome to Yorkshire, one of the biggest beats in Britain.
00:56From urban sprawl to the Yorkshire Dales, where every day the police face a different
01:01challenge.
01:02I can walk down a street and I can go, he assaults people, he deals drugs, he's a burglar,
01:08he's a car thief.
01:09Go on mate, go on.
01:13Sometimes you think, when I drive to work, am I going across a line where just different
01:18rules apply?
01:19Get down, get down, get down.
01:26Last year, there were nearly 150,000 drug offences recorded across England and Wales.
01:38In North and West Yorkshire, the Traffic Cops face a daily battle against drug runners trafficking
01:43illegal substances like crack, cocaine and cannabis throughout the Yorkshire region.
01:50They will drive at all costs to get away because we aren't going to get stopped by you guys
01:54behind us.
01:55Do what you want, we aren't stopping.
01:57But the Traffic Cops never give up on their prey.
02:00Tonight, officers from North and West Yorkshire leave no stone unturned in their battle to
02:05get these dangerous criminals off the streets.
02:09You've got to ask yourself the question, why are they fleeing?
02:12Is there somebody or something in that vehicle that they don't want to be found with?
02:19It's 4.30pm in North Yorkshire.
02:22Julian Pearson has been called on to assist in the pursuit of a runaway Audi.
02:26Off at Scotch, coming up to the roundabout, speed 100.
02:36He's back onto the A1, continuing A1, southbound, southbound A1 at Scotch.
02:42Yeah, you know, pursuit has been off our car.
02:46The driver failed to stop for a routine document check.
02:49He's had a collision with a member of the public.
02:52And now he's using one of the country's major roads, the A1, to run from police.
02:57He's gone onto the service road, unmade road, and back on, stand by, he's weaving in and
03:06out of traffic, he's onto the hard shoulder, stand by.
03:12Julian is used to pursuing reckless drivers, but the risks this one is taking to escape
03:17the police defy belief.
03:20One-nine, he's collected some cones which are now in the front of his vehicle.
03:24He's currently A1 southbound.
03:28This guy drives straight through the cones, gets cones stuck under his front wheel, when
03:32there's road workers there, and he's doing 130 through the road workers, which is a 50.
03:36So not only is he exceeding the 50 limit, he's almost done it.
03:39He's continuing, continuing, A1M southbound, leaming, we're into the three-lane section.
03:46He's using the offside gutter to get past vehicles.
03:51This isn't somebody who committed a minor offence.
03:54The way that they are driving, in lane three, to hard shoulders, to undertaking, to overtaking,
03:59at 130 miles an hour, is somebody who has committed or is committing a serious offence.
04:05The driver is now seriously endangering other road users.
04:08Yeah, he's had a collision, a Peugeot 207, he's took his wing mirror off.
04:16It's vital that Julian and the team stop him as quickly as possible.
04:19Can we get on the WEMPAS, please?
04:25Speed 97.
04:27WEMPAS 31.
04:28WEMPAS 31.
04:29We are above, parallel with the vehicle recording now.
04:30And two other police cars join the motorway ahead of the speeding car.
04:31Standby, coming up on slow-moving traffic.
04:32It's weaving in and out of the traffic again.
04:33The police helicopter is called in.
04:34WEMPAS 31.
04:35WEMPAS 31.
04:36WEMPAS 31.
04:37WEMPAS 31.
04:38WEMPAS 31.
04:39WEMPAS 31.
04:40WEMPAS 31.
04:41WEMPAS 31.
04:42WEMPAS 31.
04:43WEMPAS 31.
04:44WEMPAS 31.
04:45WEMPAS 31.
04:46WEMPAS 31.
04:47WEMPAS 31.
04:48WEMPAS 31.
04:49WEMPAS 31.
04:50WEMPAS 31.
04:52The plan now is to isolate the Audi by slowing down the other traffic.
05:01By putting a rolling block on, what we are doing is creating congestion.
05:05By creating congestion, you are forcing the fleeing vehicle to take to the hard shoulder.
05:09WEMPAS 31.
05:10WEMPAS 31.
05:11WEMPAS 31.
05:12WEMPAS 31.
05:13WEMPAS 31.
05:14WEMPAS 31.
05:15We speak one three zero.
05:16Hard shoulder.
05:17He will then break through the tailback.
05:18potentially a mile or two miles of sterile, clear motorway,
05:22you're then able to use your tactics to box the vehicle
05:26and bring that vehicle to a slow and controlled stop.
05:32After driving for 42 miles
05:34at speeds of up to 150 miles an hour,
05:37the car finally gives up the chase.
05:40Stop, stop, stop, stop, I.
05:43It's now all hands on deck to get the driver detained.
05:48I've got no idea who this guy is.
05:50I don't know whether he's got a firearm, whether he's got a knife,
05:53whether he's got an explosive device.
05:54I have no idea who this guy is.
05:56All I know is he's coming out of that car.
05:58Three, two, three, circles, can you see?
06:01MPAS 3-1, they've got the vehicle stopped on the exit slip.
06:05Exit slip, junction 45.
06:08Exit slip, junction 45.
06:10Junction 45.
06:11Exit slip, junction 45 and driver detained.
06:21In the boot, Julian finds cannabis worth £5,000 in a bin liner.
06:27In that was multiple freezer bags all done up into individual deals.
06:31So his job was to run the drugs from a point to another point
06:35to another courier who would then pick them up
06:37and pass them out to street dealers.
06:39So he was a part of a chain of possession with intent to supply.
06:43But perhaps even more shocking is what he finds in the back seat.
06:48There's one male driver, a female with a small child in the back.
06:54We'll just get some details.
07:00I'm looking at something I've never expected to see,
07:02which is a three-year-old kid sat on the seat,
07:06on a mother's knee, in tears and screaming.
07:10And a mother who just was completely nonplussed.
07:18Coming up...
07:20Julian Pearson is forced into action
07:22when a desperate driver tries to avoid the cops.
07:25Vehicle's already rammed me at speed 50, 5th Avenue, towards Keworth.
07:30And a routine stop leads to a suspicious find.
07:34Just found that on the footwell of the van.
07:39SIREN WAILS
07:45It's 8.30pm, just east of York City Centre.
07:49You're looking for a Vauxhall Astra, red, white, orange, silver.
07:53Traffic cop Sergeant Julian Pearson is on the hunt for a car
07:56that's failed to stop for local cops.
07:58The police suspect the occupants of the runaway car
08:01may be involved in drug crime.
08:03We've got a Vauxhall Astra that's made off from officers
08:06and crashed and then made off again.
08:08I've never lost a car in a pursuit in nearly 20 years.
08:12And I do have a certain reputation amongst the criminals in York.
08:15We don't want to be chased by Mr Pearson because, you know...
08:18So there is some pride attached to that, so you don't want to lose it.
08:22The Astra is currently fleeing from officers
08:25after colliding with a van near York's Tang Hall estate.
08:29It's been buzzing around this area most of the afternoon,
08:32so it's just a case of being vigilant
08:35and waiting for somebody to sight it.
08:38A few seconds later, neighbourhood officers spot the car.
08:44The last thing you want is a vehicle reversing at speed.
08:47It could collide with a pedestrian, a cyclist, another car, a bus, anybody.
08:53So literally as I arrived, the person that car collided with was actually me.
09:06Try and confirm who it was.
09:08I'm behind the vehicle. Stand by, stand by.
09:11The vehicle's already rammed me.
09:13We're at speed 5-0, 5th Avenue, towards Keworth.
09:18Units towards, please.
09:20We're up to 50mph and a 30mph speed limit.
09:22We're over speed humps at 50mph, which is making the vehicle unstable.
09:26We're across junctions without looking. The risk is high.
09:30Julian asks permission to continue the pursuit.
09:335th Avenue, 5th Avenue. Can we request T-PAC tactics, please?
09:40But with the driver's movements becoming ever more dangerous,
09:44the control room decides to call off the chase.
09:53Yes, yes, it's an abort abort.
09:55Once the abort comes in, I am duty-bound then to stop the police car,
10:00pull over, turn the blue lights off and say I've aborted.
10:04Mr Pearson's record of never losing a car in a pursuit is now in jeopardy.
10:09But he's not giving up the hunt completely.
10:12It's in towards Morrison's car park. My blue lights are off.
10:16I'm providing a visual containment for obvious reasons. I'm not pursuing it.
10:20As Julian searches for the Astra, he gets a tip-off.
10:23Quick!
10:25Three people are getting two guys.
10:28Where's the...?
10:34Drug-related crime costs an estimated £13.5 billion in England and Wales alone.
10:43In the past year, police in Yorkshire and Humberside
10:46have dealt with more than 10,500 drug possession offences.
10:51But it takes a certain copper's nose to track down the perpetrators.
10:57He sees James Duffy and Tim Wilson from North Yorkshire's road crime team
11:02like nothing more than seeing people brought to justice.
11:08We make no apologies for the fact that we are out there to arrest people
11:12committing crimes that we deem as serious, so drug supply, burglary, theft.
11:16And they pride themselves on being able to sniff out the bad guys.
11:20You get almost a sixth sense that there's something uneasy in the air,
11:24but you're just not sure what it is at that point.
11:27Tonight, on the outskirts of Harrogate in North Yorkshire,
11:31James and Tim have just spotted a van with unusually low suspension.
11:35Same back end, looks heavy on transit.
11:38Shall we give it a start?
11:40There's a developing trend of people stealing plant machinery,
11:43so farm machinery such as minidiggers, road rollers,
11:46and they're putting them in transit vans if they can fit them in.
11:49But what that ultimately does, because they're quite heavy machinery,
11:53it weighs the back end of the vehicle down,
11:55so it's just one of the telltale signs that we'll look for.
12:02The van stops as soon as the police try to pull it over.
12:05He's out the door.
12:07And, unexpectedly, the passenger jumps out.
12:10I'll just jump back in a minute. Just sit back in.
12:13The passenger gets out, which immediately sort of raises my suspicions.
12:17Either he wants to get out because he's going to look at running
12:20or disposing of something,
12:22or he's giving the occupants of the van an opportunity to, you know,
12:26maybe secrete or hide something within the vehicle.
12:29While Tim talks to the driver, James takes some details from the passenger.
12:34You all right, mate?
12:36You almost fell out.
12:38What's your name?
12:40And your home address?
12:46One of the things that we look for when we ask people,
12:48where do you live or what your name is,
12:50we're looking for these little telltale signs
12:52where they're looking to buy some time.
12:54This chap, I ask him his address, and straightaway I get,
12:57oh, well, I've just moved, and for me, straightaway I'm thinking,
13:01nah, you're trying to think of something, so I need to dig a bit deeper.
13:04You known to police, mate?
13:06Not really, mate.
13:08Not really or not?
13:10Been arrested before.
13:12With three people in the van, James and Tim are outnumbered,
13:15so they have to wait for backup before they can carry out a search.
13:18What's in the back?
13:20I don't know.
13:21You can't even get in the back, mate. I'm not even lying to you.
13:23While they wait, James calls in the details the passenger has given him.
13:27Can you get some Mark Scars tattoos?
13:30It turns out they match the details of a known offender
13:33with a distinctive tattoo on his chest.
13:36Let's have a look, then.
13:38I got that one removed. That one got taken off.
13:40Did it? Let's have a look, then.
13:43Oh, yeah. Must be good, them lasers.
13:45It's like there's never been anything there.
13:48The man's tattoos don't match those of the person on the police database,
13:52which could mean he's not who he says he is.
13:55Showing me a chest that has never been touched by a tattoo needle
13:59and claiming that it's been lasered off.
14:01I've seen lasered-off tattoos,
14:03and that guy had never seen a tattoo parlour, certainly around his chest.
14:07The man is obviously trying to hide his true identity,
14:10and it soon becomes clear this isn't the only thing he's trying to hide.
14:14When I open the door, I've noticed a white substance down on the floor.
14:18While there's just two of us and there's three of them,
14:20the worst thing I can do is start grabbing for it.
14:23So it's all about really just keeping an eye on it,
14:26making sure it's protected and just playing it out.
14:29And when backup arrives in the form of Rich Harrison and Paul Stamp,
14:33Rich immediately spots the offending substance.
14:37Don't know.
14:39Just found that on the footwell of the van.
14:46Back in York, Sergeant Julian Pearson has not given up
14:50on the Vauxhall Astra that reversed into him.
14:53He was doing a good 20, 30 miles an hour backwards,
14:57so he's collided with the front of my car,
14:59and clearly he was trying to get away from police.
15:03Julian lost sight of the vehicle when the control room called off the pursuit,
15:07but he believes it has now headed into a supermarket car park.
15:22After scouring the car park, Julian finds the abandoned Astra.
15:32Thank you, thank you. Any free resources to Navigation Bill, please?
15:36No, we've got...
15:39We've got the runners.
15:41The suspects have run off, but Julian hears over the radio
15:44that his colleagues now know who was driving the car.
15:49They've seen him in the driving seat as he's reversed at speed away from them.
15:53They've identified the driver.
15:55It's now just a question of tracking him down.
15:58We've got the car, we know who he is,
16:00we'll just deal with it in slow time now.
16:02In the meantime, Julian and his colleague Mark Patterson search the car.
16:07A little baggie.
16:09It's a paper wrap that contains a small quantity of white powder.
16:14There's also a paper wrap that contains either one or two tablets as well
16:19from the ashtray of the vehicle.
16:21In getting away from the police,
16:23they've left certain incriminating pieces of evidence behind.
16:26It will have been a few hundred quid, you're not talking thousands.
16:29It will have been enough to deal to people on the streets.
16:32As Mark bags up the evidence, Julian suddenly hears a phone ringing.
16:38I'm going to recover that mobile phone.
16:43Right, there's somebody ringing this phone.
16:45Julian passes the details on to Control in the hope that they can trace the call.
16:51I don't know whether you're going to get authority to see if you can triangulate that.
16:55A few minutes later, the officers hear that a local police unit
16:59has detained two people they suspect are the passengers.
17:02The female that one of the units has got detained around the corner
17:05is known to officers in Newark.
17:08And it would appear that her phone is ringing from the same number
17:11as the phone that Julian's found in the car,
17:13which tends to suggest that she's connected to the car,
17:15even though she's been found some distance away from it,
17:18and that this male is also connected to it.
17:22All that remains now is to catch the driver.
17:25And as the recovery van arrives to take away the car,
17:28news comes in that he too has been detained.
17:40Julian rushes to the scene,
17:43just in time to see the suspect being breathalysed.
17:52All three suspects are now in custody.
17:55So we had the driver, we had the other male passenger and a female.
18:00All three were very well known to the police.
18:04One of them, a career criminal, active burglar, both active in the drugs scene.
18:10And one of the males had secreted some drugs up his back passage.
18:16I called in, seen them, to reverse back down,
18:19and that's when they switched around the seats.
18:21Right, OK.
18:22The complicating factor now is that the police can't be sure
18:25which one of the suspects was driving the car during the chase.
18:29The person in the back of this car has been cited driving the car twice.
18:34We've got two lads. One's here.
18:36We know for certain that he was the driver of that car at some point today.
18:40What we need to look at now is whether he was the driver at the time
18:43when he collided with the police car and made off.
18:46The police will check forensic evidence and CCTV footage
18:50to place one of them behind the wheel.
18:52But with the car recovered and the suspects heading
18:55either for medical attention or custody,
18:57Julian's record of never losing a car in a pursuit remains intact.
19:02We had £2,000 worth of damage to the police car
19:05and an uninsured, unlicensed, unrobed withercat taken off the streets.
19:10Three criminals arrested in possession of drugs
19:15and the only damage is to a North Yorkshire police vehicle.
19:18So, a good conclusion.
19:25Coming up...
19:26That might be a deal going now.
19:28..the police believe they've caught a drug dealer in the act...
19:31Stand by, stand by, stand by. He's off, off, off.
19:33Back towards the entrance.
19:35..the transit van search turns ugly...
19:41..and a suspected drug dealer does a runner.
19:44A package was thrown from the driver's side.
19:53On a country road near Harrogate in North Yorkshire,
19:56the search of a transit van suspected of carrying stolen machinery
20:00has turned up not a road roller but a suspected Class A drug.
20:05We've just found that on the footwell of the van
20:08near the passenger's foot there.
20:10The occupants of the van are insisting it's nothing illegal.
20:18The lad's immediate reply was that that's welding chalk,
20:22which, I'll be honest, I have no idea what welding chalk would look like.
20:26Do you want to see welding chalk?
20:31That's not the same as that, is it?
20:33Although, you know, we might have been a bit unsure at first,
20:36I think it was relatively obvious that it was crack cocaine.
20:39We'll do some checks and we'll take it from there.
20:42Hopefully, we'll get to the bottom of it.
20:44When passenger got out, he stepped out for no reason.
20:46There's a chance he's bought some gear and put it down his pants
20:49with what I'd be suggesting has probably fell out of his foot.
20:52The issue we had at the roadside was that the drugs that were found,
20:56it wasn't found upon his person, so then you've got to look
20:59at how you're going to prove that that drug's specifically come from him.
21:03They may not be able to charge him with possession of a Class A drug yet,
21:07but the man has given the police false details.
21:10He gave details of a male that is known to police in the Rippon area.
21:16And this is enough to detain him for a search.
21:19Put some handcuffs on you until we know who you are.
21:26His reaction takes the police by surprise.
21:29Calm down. Calm down. Calm down.
21:32It was a surprise it escalated that quickly.
21:34Unfortunately, the cuff got stuck on his jumper,
21:36and it's just, I think, bought him that second.
21:38That's been make or break for him.
21:40He's thought, it's now or never, and he's gone for it.
21:44It takes three officers to finally subdue him.
21:47Because you're fighting against us.
21:49And within my rights to stop you fighting against us.
21:52Stop. Stop. Nothing's stabbing you.
21:55Stay still now.
21:57You're locked up for assault police.
22:00Assault police, you just kicked me in the chest.
22:05Go. Come down to this van.
22:07The man is now searched to see if he's got any drugs on him.
22:11You've got nothing stubbed down your pants, have you?
22:13Nothing at all, I don't swear to you.
22:15Right, just release your arms out a little bit.
22:17I've had a really, really good search.
22:19Right up into his crotch, as best I can do.
22:22So I'm really happy with the search,
22:24but obviously there's still something amiss with him, isn't there?
22:26The suspect is taken to the custody van,
22:28which will transport him to the police station.
22:32He's been locked up for assault police and obstruct police.
22:35And in the meantime, the other officers try to get into the back of the van.
22:39Given it's the reason that we originally stopped you.
22:41With the back boarded up and the keys not working, this is no mean feat.
22:47But Paul Stamp finally manages to force his way through.
22:55He's in. He's in.
22:57Inside, he finds no stolen machinery.
23:02But more evidence that drugs have recently been used.
23:13But he doesn't find any actual drugs.
23:16And no drugs are found on the driver or the other passengers either.
23:23The prisoner, though, will face further investigation down at the police station.
23:31We'll come back and we'll start doing a package and look at house searches
23:34and putting all the paperwork together.
23:45Combating drug crime throughout north and west Yorkshire is a daily problem,
23:49especially in cities like Leeds and Bradford.
23:52Their position on the crossroads between Hull and Manchester
23:55mean millions of pounds worth of drugs pass through these cities every year.
24:00Where there are drugs, there is associated crime.
24:03You've got every spectrum that you could possibly wish for in Bradford.
24:07You've got the top side up into the border with North York, which is lovely.
24:11You've got the tougher side in the city and surrounding the city.
24:17You can go from one part to another part to this part to that part
24:20and you can find four seasons in one day, really.
24:25West Yorkshire traffic cop Nick Priestley used to be a detective,
24:28but he exchanged his biro for a BMW when he realised he wanted a change of gear.
24:33The traffic guys were going out and handing me the paperwork
24:36and saying, there you go, over to you, and they were back out and about.
24:42Today, Nick is on patrol in Bradford and he's spotted a car up to no good.
24:49We've seen a Golf parked at the side of the road,
24:52a young lad leaning through the window,
24:55so it was clear to me that the Golf were dealing drugs.
25:01Just pull in there.
25:02Suspecting a drug deal is one thing.
25:04Catching the culprits is another.
25:07The Golf seems to be stopping...
25:11..but then accelerates away.
25:14Vehicle found to stop.
25:16Vehicle found to stop.
25:18Green lane at Wyke, to St Mary's Crescent.
25:24Suspect's in the van, the T0. Give me a straighter, please.
25:29Single crewed, T-pack trained.
25:32Requesting T-pack authority, please. Speed is 3-0.
25:36Yeah, it's 3-0. We're now at Towngate at Wyke,
25:39going towards Odsall Topover.
25:41It's two Asian male occupants.
25:43Speed is...
25:45From start to finish, we are in a built-up area.
25:49It's tea time.
25:51People are going about their business, finishing work,
25:54going on for tea, doing school runs, kids' runs.
25:57It's a busy day.
25:59It's a busy day.
26:01It's a busy day.
26:03Doing school runs, kids' runs, you know, it is busy.
26:06Next to November 3rd, there are no authorities with a tactical face...
26:11Standby, standby.
26:13We're back towards Odsall, Huddersfield Road.
26:19Yeah, he's suspected being involved in the supply
26:22of delta Romeo down at Wyke.
26:24It's now Huddersfield Road passing Delphilne Nearside.
26:28The drug gangs know that if they put the public in danger,
26:31the more likely it is that the police will abort.
26:37Yeah, he's sort of going to go into Marshfields, over, into Marshfields.
26:43Yeah, it's committed Marshfields, towards Manchester Road.
26:47Finally, desperate to escape the cops, the car veers wildly into an alley.
26:56It's back at Ramsdale Road. I think we're going to abort now.
27:00Just stand by.
27:08Yeah, I've lost it on the back streets. It's gone down the Snickets, over.
27:12It'll come back out on Bolingbroke Street, over.
27:14Yeah, can you check the Roundhill Street?
27:16He's gone down an alleyway, which I could have got down,
27:19but it would have damaged my car, and, you know, it's not justified that.
27:23I'm not going to write off a £40,000 car just for the sake of my pride.
27:27You know, I must catch you. That's a non-starter.
27:36In North Yorkshire, there were 1,800 drug offences recorded last year,
27:41and the prevalence of drugs is never far away,
27:44even in the county's upmarket areas.
27:47You're always going to find drugs, and you're always going to find drug dealers,
27:51and there's always that element of society that are using drugs,
27:55so you can find it anywhere.
27:58But research suggests that up to 50% of acquisitive crime,
28:03theft, burglary and shoplifting, is also related to illegal drug use.
28:08The users commit what we call volume crime,
28:10which is, you know, kind of shop thefts, burglaries, that kind of thing.
28:14They commit those crimes to feed a habit, and it's samed the country over.
28:20Traffic cop Mick Roth has been on North Yorkshire's road crime team
28:24for five years, and he's got to know the regular drug users.
28:28My job does bring me into contact with this part of society,
28:31and it's my job to know this part of society very, very well,
28:34how it operates, how it works, who the regular users are,
28:37who the regular dealers are, because that leads you to so many other crimes.
28:44In Harrogate, Mick and his colleague Paul Stamp have spotted a car up ahead
28:48which arouses their suspicions.
28:50Yeah, there's a black Peugeot up in front, which looks untidy, dirty.
28:54We'll just catch it up and see if it's anything worth looking at.
28:57Hobart 94, can I get in queue for a P&C check, please?
29:00You look at every car, you can soon see the ones that stand out from the masses,
29:05so one that looks particularly uncared for, it leaps out straight away.
29:11The car disappears into a Sainsbury's car park,
29:14just as the control room identifies the driver
29:17as someone who's well-known to Mick.
29:20What a shock.
29:21She's known for drug supply, and I've had dealings with her before,
29:24so you think to yourself, we either stop her now or we may not get anything.
29:29Let's just see where she goes, see what she does,
29:32because ideally you want to get somebody red-handed.
29:35I've just bobbed into Sainsbury's, so we'll just give them a bit of time
29:38to do whatever they're going to do, and hopefully it might be up to no good.
29:42A few minutes later, Mick spots something suspicious.
29:46That might be a deal going now.
29:50Boys, we've gone into a fine-s*** car and there's a male leaning into...
29:54Leaning into driver's window.
29:56Another police car has now joined Mick and Paul
29:59and is lying in wait on the other side of the car park.
30:02Behind us, by about 100 yards, it's my near side,
30:05she's parked up nose in, driver's window's down,
30:09there's a male with a white baseball cap.
30:11Stand by, right, he's off on foot.
30:13He's now into bushes and probably towards you.
30:16Without actually seeing drugs changing hands,
30:19the officers can't be sure that a drug deal has taken place.
30:22He may have been a passenger within the vehicle,
30:24but we're not 100% at the minute.
30:26Back to car and stood by the driver's door at the minute.
30:30A few seconds later, a woman comes out of the supermarket
30:33and also returns to the car.
30:35Stand by, stand by, stand by, vehicle's manoeuvring within the car park.
30:39And he's off, off, off.
30:41And right, right, right, back towards the entrance.
30:44Not hanging about, but that might just be a manner of driving.
30:47And she passes the garage to the near side and will be approaching the exit.
30:55Despite their suspicions, the officers have not actually seen
30:58the driver or her passengers do anything illegal,
31:01but up ahead is an estate well known for drug dealing.
31:05She might deal on here, mate, cos it's good for it, isn't it?
31:09Good for it, isn't it? Yeah.
31:11Let's just see, let's just let it play for a few minutes,
31:13see if she's going to go and score some gear or deal some gear somewhere.
31:16But the driver sails right on past the estate.
31:19We're descending now as we're rowing towards the crossing at Starbeck.
31:23One for cover at the minute.
31:25She ain't going to deal here, is she? We'll have to...
31:27We'll have her stopped.
31:29Boys, if you want to move up, we'll just go and give her a stop now.
31:32Paul indicates to the driver to pull over
31:35and she comes to a halt in the next street.
31:39Jump back in. Jump back in. Stay in there, mate.
31:43Sorry. Jump back in, sweetheart.
31:45All right. How are you doing these days?
31:48All right, not too bad, actually.
31:50I almost drab it at the minute. I haven't got a habit.
31:52You're not using it more? No. Are you clean? Yeah.
31:55You on a script, though? I'm not on a script, no.
31:57Really? No, honestly, I've never been on heroin in my life.
31:59Commendable.
32:00When you come to deal with these people on a regular basis,
32:03you do get to know each other, and they'll know you, you know them,
32:07and they'll know how you're going to behave and vice versa, really.
32:10But you're going to be detained to search yourself and your vehicle for drugs?
32:13That's fine. Nothing to hide whatsoever, so absolutely fine.
32:15All right. Not a problem.
32:16We'll have to deal with you for no MOT afterwards.
32:18Oh, shit, I've got no MOT? Yeah, no MOT.
32:20Are you joking? Yeah, yeah, we'll double-check it.
32:22We'll get the exact date for you, but it was a couple of months.
32:24That's the only thing I've got to worry about, then.
32:26It's like, honestly, there's no drugs or anything.
32:28I don't care how much you search.
32:30Mick calls for a female officer to come and search the driver,
32:33and while they wait, he carries out a drugs test.
32:36While we're sat here as well, we'll sort it in a minute.
32:39I'm going to require you to provide a sample of saliva at roadside for analysis.
32:42Have you had any cocaine today? No.
32:44Not on any lines today at all? No.
32:47I suspect you might have.
32:49I had something yesterday, but I haven't had anything today.
32:52It's still in your system, and it registers, you'll get locked up.
32:55Take this in your left hand, or your right hand, whichever.
32:58Rub it down your tongue.
33:00Keep doing it. Uh-huh.
33:02On the roadside, have you checked it right?
33:04The test will show whether the driver has recently taken an illegal drug.
33:10You've tested positive on a roadside drugs wipe for cocaine in your system.
33:14All right? So it's not going to tell me you're under arrest,
33:16or you're arrested under offence.
33:18Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act, is that right?
33:20I'll just put some bracelets on you, if you have to be transported, sweetheart.
33:23The driver will have to take a blood test down at the police station
33:26to determine the exact level of cocaine in her system.
33:29If it's above 10 micrograms per litre of blood, she will face charges.
33:42In Bradford, a suspected drug dealer has given traffic cop Nick Priestley the slip.
33:49I couldn't get round that corner, not without damaging this car.
33:52I'm passing word of the temperature, boss.
33:55It went right, so...
33:58As Nick searches for the car, news comes in.
34:01YP, I think we've found it.
34:03Yes, sir.
34:04Officers have found the car, but the occupants have escaped on foot.
34:103-0, it's an Asian male driver wearing a... I think it was a grey top.
34:14Asian male driver wearing a grey top.
34:16OK, yeah, we are on scene and looking...
34:19We'll see what we can do.
34:21While his colleagues search for the suspects,
34:23Nick heads off on a mission to find some drugs.
34:30When we first got behind the car, it turned left up into the estate
34:33and then it turned right, and it's at that point
34:36when a package was thrown from the driver's side.
34:43There should be a little plastic package under this light here.
34:47There it is. It's at the left-hand side of that light. Can you see it?
34:51Even whilst driving at high speed,
34:53Nick managed to spot the exact moment
34:55when he suspects the driver ditched the drugs.
35:02Right, looks like maybe ten wraps of heroin, maybe crack.
35:07Or maybe a mixture of both.
35:09Ten-pound wraps there.
35:12With the drugs found on the road,
35:14plus whatever the police find in the car,
35:16Nick hopes they'll have enough to charge the driver
35:18with possession with intent to supply.
35:21We have to convince the magistrates and the jury
35:23and the judges of that as well.
35:25But for me, I think it's what we've seen the car doing,
35:27somebody leaning through the window, clearly dealing,
35:2920 wraps, yeah, it's supply.
35:31It's what we've seen the car doing,
35:33somebody leaning through the window, clearly dealing,
35:3520 wraps, yeah, it's supply.
35:37It's what we've seen the car doing,
35:39yeah, it's supply. It's not personal use.
35:44All that remains now is to find the drug dealers.
35:48Hopefully we can maybe get some fingerprints on the wrapping,
35:51DNA from the wraps, from the bag.
35:53So there's lines of enquiry. It's not over yet.
35:59Coming up...
36:01The cops find something fishy in the back of the Peugeot.
36:06Some sea bass, some tuna, some salmon.
36:09And will the Audi driver,
36:11who put his and everyone else's lives at risk,
36:14finally pay the penalty for his actions?
36:16He just had absolutely no thought that day
36:19apart from saving his own skin.
36:31In Harrogate, a known drug dealer
36:33has just tested positive for driving under the influence of cocaine.
36:36All you'll do now is you're going to come in for a blood test, all right?
36:39That's fine.
36:40Driving with cocaine or opiates in your system
36:43makes you up to ten times more likely to have a serious crash.
36:48The punishment for this offence is a heavy fine,
36:51disqualification or even prison.
36:53We'll get you out first, if that's all right?
36:55That's fine, yeah.
36:57Just keep your hands where I can see them.
36:59A female officer has now arrived to search the driver.
37:02And the other female passenger,
37:04while the rest of the officers search the car.
37:06Have you paid for all that stuff?
37:08Cash.
37:09You've paid cash, and your receipts where?
37:11You haven't got a receipt?
37:12I don't get receipts.
37:13After a thorough search, they find no drugs.
37:16But they do find something rather fishy.
37:19Is it your camouflage bag in the back?
37:21Yeah.
37:22What are the items from within it?
37:24Fish.
37:25Where have you got that from?
37:26Paisley.
37:27Have you got details of the fish?
37:29What type of fish is it to me?
37:30Sea bass.
37:31Some sea bass, some tuna, some salmon.
37:34Fillets.
37:35It just makes you think, well,
37:37if someone's gone in with a handbag,
37:39and there's a handbag slacked full of fish,
37:41and they've been in Sainsbury's,
37:43then there's a police officer.
37:45I'm going to think we might not have drugs here,
37:47but they may have actually just been shoplifting.
37:49At this moment in time, you're still under caution.
37:51You're also under arrest for theft from shop, all right.
37:55But when the police ask the supermarket to check their CCTV...
37:59If they're looking on CCTV,
38:01she's put it into, like, a camouflaged shoulder bag.
38:04..they discover it wasn't the driver caught on camera,
38:07but the passenger.
38:08I think the front-seat passenger is the last who's done the shop theft.
38:12It turns out she went into the shop in disguise,
38:15using the driver's hat.
38:18The hat that she was wearing, the front-seat passenger,
38:20had actually worn to go into the store to commit the theft,
38:24which did put a bit of doubt in my mind at the time of the stop, really,
38:28cos the driver was wearing this hat,
38:30and she'd been wearing it before they went in,
38:32cos it was quite distinctive.
38:33But then, luckily, the rest of the clothing matched
38:35the front-seat passenger.
38:37Right, well, at this time, you're under arrest on suspicion of theft from shop.
38:40You're under caution, you don't have to say anything,
38:42but it may harm your defence.
38:44The women are taken to Harrogate Police Station for processing.
38:47Because of her demeanour,
38:48I've asked her to provide a sample of saliva at the roadside,
38:51suspecting that she may be impaired by drugs.
38:53And as such, she's been arrested under Section 5A of the Road Traffic Act.
38:57The driver will now have to undergo a blood test...
38:59Come on, from this way.
39:01..to check the exact levels of cocaine in her system.
39:04I just need you to consent to stay here.
39:06If found to have 10 micrograms of cocaine per litre of blood or over,
39:10she faces prosecution.
39:12And with a blood test and the paperwork completed,
39:16the suspect will now spend the night in a cell.
39:19Do you want some plimsolls for while you're in there?
39:21Yeah, please. Yeah, what size are you?
39:24In the meantime, the passenger is also booked in,
39:27and it turns out that she too is well-known to the police.
39:31She's a prolific shop thief.
39:33She was in for shop theft last week, the sergeant was saying,
39:36and she expected to get a prison sentence,
39:38that's how busy she is shoplifting,
39:40so hopefully she'll get a custodial sentence this time.
39:48The sentences imposed for dealing illegal drugs can vary from person to person.
39:52Drugs can vary from several months to life in prison.
39:57In York, Julian Pearson is on his way to the Crown Court
40:00for the sentencing of Thomas Birbeck,
40:02the drug dealer in the Audi involved in a high-speed chase on the A1.
40:11Speeds of up to 150 miles an hour were recorded,
40:16and the vehicle was in collision with a number of members of the public.
40:22So it's a case of dangerous driving, fell to stop,
40:27and in the boot of the car was some drugs.
40:32Julian is due to show the court the helicopter footage of the incident
40:36to prove just how serious it was.
40:39This was 42 miles of dangerous driving,
40:42where the subject, or Mr Birbeck, had driven extremely dangerously,
40:47putting other road users at risk,
40:49trying to evade capture at all costs.
40:55Most people go to work, they have some morals,
40:59but people like him look for the quickest, shortest route to riches,
41:04which invariably is drugs and crime.
41:07But the most shocking thing for Julian about this whole incident
41:10was the fact that there was a small child in the back of the car.
41:14I looked into the back and could see the child absolutely distraught,
41:19and it was just that sort of moment where you think,
41:23had he lost control of that car and crashed,
41:26then it was an absolute certainty that that child would have died.
41:30There's one male driver, a female with a small child in the back.
41:39I mean, I just got utter contempt for the guy
41:42because he just had absolutely no thought that day
41:47apart from saving his own skin.
41:52He hopes the court will impose a custodial sentence on the driver.
41:58The streets of the UK will be better off without them for a while, I think.
42:06Two hours later, the judge has passed sentence.
42:10The judge did say this is one of the worst dangerous driving cases that she's seen.
42:14She sentenced him to a total of 32 months in prison.
42:17She disqualified him from driving for four years and eight months.
42:21We've taken a drugs mule, a courier, off the streets.
42:25We've enabled that child to be placed into care.
42:29It's giving her, the three-year-old girl, the opportunity for potential
42:33to ensure that she doesn't continue living a life around drugs and criminality.
42:41The man in the van suspected of dealing crack cocaine
42:44was strip-searched back at the police station
42:47and found in possession of crack cocaine and heroin.
42:50We found that in his sock, that is crack cocaine,
42:53and that there has been located in his mouth,
42:55so we'll open that up and see if it's crack cocaine or some other controlled drug.
42:59He received a 12-month community order for possession of Class A drugs.
43:04Tests confirmed the welder's chalk found in the footwell next to him
43:08was in fact crack cocaine with a street value of £540.
43:13He has pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer
43:16and is currently awaiting trial.
43:19The Peugeot driver was found to be four times over the legal limit for cocaine.
43:24She was disqualified from driving for 12 months and fined £235.
43:29Her passenger pleaded guilty to shoplifting
43:32and was sentenced to eight weeks in jail.
43:36The identity of the driver of the Golf that failed to stop for Nick Priestley
43:39could not be proven and the case has been closed.
43:43Tests on the drugs thrown from the car confirmed they were
43:46ten street deals of crack cocaine and ten deals of heroin, valued at £200.
43:53No action was taken against the man the police suspected of being the driver of the Vauxhall Astra.
43:58Another male arrested at the time is awaiting trial,
44:01charged with dangerous driving, no insurance and driving without a licence.
44:07The drugs found in the car were confirmed as crack, heroin and cannabis.
44:13The man filmed also admitted being in possession of Class A drugs whilst in police custody
44:18and received a six-month conditional discharge for drugs possession.
44:26And Traffic Cops is back right here on Channel 5 next Monday at 8.
44:31Stick around as Chris Tarrant takes some rickety old rails
44:34to the glorious Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe on a very brave trip.
44:39Or pop over to Spike for incredible footage of madness on the world's roads.
44:43Car Crash TV does what it says on the tin in just a moment.