AN operation targeting travelling criminals using routes in and through Monmouthshire has been carried out by Gwent Police and two neighbouring forces.

Officers from the Gwent force teamed up with colleagues from Dyfed Powys and Gloucestershire for Operation Shield, following a number of burglaries in Monmouthshire and Newport, and along the A48 corridor.

The 24-hour operation involved officers stopping vehicles and speaking to drivers, while automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) technology was also used to check vehicle details and number plates.

Gloucestershire Police stopped 325 vehicles in their area bordering Gwent, passing on information and reassuring residents, as well as encouraging them to contact police if they see anything suspicious. Officers from Dyfed Powys Police stopped 200 vehicles and offered the same information.

In Gwent, 465 vehicles were stopped, 150 specifically in the Osbaston area of Monmouth to offer reassurance to residents in response to recent burglaries.

Thirteen vehicles were seized - six in Gloucestershire, three in the Dyfed Powys area, and four in Gwent - because the drivers did not have insurance. Four fixed penalty notices and three summons to court were also issued in Gwent for traffic offences.

Also, a 24-year-old man was stopped in Caldicot and arrested for being a disqualified driver and for being in possession of cannabis. A later search of his home revealed cannabis cultivation.

He is due in court on January 13 for driving offences, and has been bailed to allow further inquiries into drug offences.

"Our aim was to check all of the main arterial routes around Monmouthshire to check anyone entering and leaving the county," said sergeant Tony Patey from Gwent Police.

"All drivers stopped have been given a leaflet to explain about our work to tackle travelling criminals, but we appreciate that many local residents would have been spoken to and we would like to thank them for their co-operation and support.

"Our work will carry on in the coming days and weeks. We continue to encourage local residents to report any suspicious activity and vehicles in their communities, and to sign up to our Online Watch Link (www.owl.co.uk/gwent).