// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Seventeen arrested in Teesside organised crime raids
About 130 officers were involved in the raids across parts of Teesside
Police have carried out a series of early morning raids targeting those suspected of being involved in organised crime.
Cleveland Police said 17 people had been arrested during the operation - involving about 130 officers including some from the National Crime Agency - across South Bank, Grangetown and Eston, near Middlesbrough, on Monday.
It is part of a high-profile response to a crash on the nearby A66 last month which came at the end of a police pursuit and left two officers dead.
Five men died also died when their Volkswagen Passat went the wrong way down the road and hit a Cleveland Police armed response vehicle heading in the opposite direction.
The force said Monday's raids had seen people arrested on suspicion of various offences including drugs and assault.
A convoy of about a dozen vans started the operation shortly after 08:00 BST, with roads temporarily blocked by patrol cars.
Officers used battering rams to force entry to several properties as parents walked past with their children on the school run.
Cleveland Police said much of the information behind the raids had come from the local community
Assistant Chief Constable Mark Hall said public support after the crash had been ''absolutely phenomenal".