Cleveland Police have confirmed the arrest of seven additional men as part of an ongoing operation targeting organised crime in the aftermath of the A66 crash that claimed seven lives, including two police officers.

The total number of arrests linked to the incident has now reached 24. The latest round of detentions includes four men, aged 35, 25, 40, and 21, who remain in custody for questioning on suspicion of criminal damage with intent to endanger life, arson, and possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.

The arson charge relates to a caravan set alight on Atlee Road in Middlesbrough at 5:30am on Wednesday. The criminal damage allegation stems from a suspected ramming of a garden wall in Steele Crescent, Middlesbrough, during the early hours of Sunday morning. All four men were apprehended when police stopped their vehicle on Kingsley Road in Grangetown at 10:30pm on Thursday 27 August, seizing Class A drugs and a Mercedes car.

The three other men arrested include: a 23-year-old held on suspicion of threats to kill; a 42-year-old detained on suspicion of threats to kill and possession of criminal property; and a 30-year-old arrested on suspicion of possession of criminal property. All three have been released on conditional bail. Officers also seized £15,000 in cash.

The additional arrests come as detectives clarified that they are not linking a separate house fire that killed a seven-year-old girl and her aunt to last weekend’s crash.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Sutherland said: “Since the tragic incident last Saturday morning in which seven people, including two of our serving police officers, PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough, sadly lost their lives, officers and staff have remained working around the clock to continue to serve the public of Cleveland.”

He added: “In the same week, we have also seen a tragic house fire on Wednesday in which two people lost their lives, which is also understandably impacting the force and our local communities. At this time, we are not linking this incident to the fatal collision on the A66. Our thoughts remain with all those affected by these incidents as we continue our investigations into what happened.”

Hundreds of extra police officers have been drafted in to support the force following a series of recent incidents in the Middlesbrough and County Durham area – beginning with the head-on crash that killed PCs Blades, 37, and Clough, 38, alongside five young men.