Police from three counties worked to arrest and arrest drivers of two stolen pickup trucks using cloned license plates.

Thames Valley Police revealed on Facebook that officers cited vehicles entering the M4 near junction 8/9 in Maidenhead.

The vehicles triggered the police’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) systems and the vans were found to use fake plates and may have been stolen.

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The vans moved on the M40 and were stopped near junction 6 in Watlington.

Teams from Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire, along with a gun unit and dog unit, all joined forces to stop the vans.

To make sure the pilots didn’t try to escape, they used a “stop stick” to puncture the front tires “before bringing them to a controlled stop.

Further investigations revealed that both vehicles had been stolen and used false plates.

Drivers of both vans were arrested on suspicion of having committed a range of offenses, including stealing a motor vehicle and driving drugs, after both testing positive.

They were also arrested on suspicion of driving without insurance and otherwise driving under license.

Police said the two drivers are linked to “several” thefts and burglaries in the Thames Valley, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Surrey.

The vans are believed to have been stolen in Hertfordshire and Surrey.

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