Fugitive arrested in Sunderland pretended he was someone already in custody

The 24-year-old motorist was initially hauled over after he was spotted driving erratically on the A1, at Washington, by officers travelling in a lorry as part of the Europe-wide One Road, One Week road safety campaign.

He gave a false name – of someone already in custody for a separate matter – after he was questioned when the police illuminated hidden blue lights on their HGV.

It eventually emerged that he himself was subject to an outstanding European arrest warrant.

The force say the Albanian national was then taken to court, disqualified from driving for six months, issued with a £200 fine and finally deported back to his home country following the incident on Thursday, September 17.

Sergeant John Sanderson, of Northumbria Police’s motor patrols department, has now said: “It has been invaluable having use of the this HGV during the One Road, One Week operation.

“The vehicle has allowed us to capture a magnitude of unsuspecting drivers breaking the law on our roads.

“The height of the vehicle gives officers a great vantage point so those who try to hide their mobile phones on their lap whilst driving and texting are caught instantaneously.

“But it is also a great asset when patrolling our highways in Northumberland as we look to target criminals using our rural road network.

“In this instance we have captured an Albanian national who has been driving carelessly on our roads.

"But once he was pulled over the situation started to unravel and we knew there was more than what met the eye.

“The individual was found to be wanted for immigration offences but dropped himself in it again when posing as someone else who was already being held in police custody for separate offences.

“This kind of work is an example of what we do all throughout the year to keep our roads safe across the North East”.

Northumbria Police borrowed the HGV as part of the Op Tramline initiative run by Highways England.

From their lofty position in the HGV cab, traffic officers were able to capture drivers using mobile phones, driving carelessly or under the influence of drink or drugs.

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