Police chase leads to £70,000 stash of 'stolen' whisky being found in lorry

A £70,000 stash of stolen whisky has been found in the back of a lorry in West Yorkshire by police after a chase on a motorway.

West Yorkshire's Roads Policing Unit were carrying out a drink drive patrol as part of Operation Limit, the national drink and drug drive campaign, this morning when they spotted the "suspicious" lorry.

Its driver failed to stop, triggering a brief chase on the M606 near Bradford which resulted in an estimated £70,000 worth of Johnny Cree whisky boxes being found in the back.

Officers had to use a stinger to bring the lorry, which was suspected to be cloned and had no supporting documents, to a halt at 7.50am, West Yorkshire Police said.

The whisky is "believed to be stolen" and there were no supporting documents.

The force said the drink drive patrol officers "weren't expecting the alcohol-related offence".

Two males who were in the lorry have been arrested and are in custody.

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A statement by West Yorkshire Police said: "The northbound M606 was briefly closed as a safety procedure while officers dealt with the incident, but has since reopened.

"West Yorkshire Police regularly carry out pro-active commercial vehicle operations to combat this and other offending on our roads, denying their use to criminals and making them safer for all."

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