A TOTAL of 200 people were arrested and 14 vehicles seized in a Merseyside police operation yesterday.

Officers targeted named offenders and those wanted on warrant for failing to appear before the courts.

More than 700 officers were involved in the crackdown, which involved visiting defendants’ homes unannounced and bringing them back to court.

The outstanding warrants were for a range of charges including burglary, drink driving, disqualified driving, shoplifting and assault.

During the operation, police seized £76,000 in cash in Knowsley and £30,000 in cash in north Liverpool. Two people were arrested on suspicion of money laundering in connection with the seizures.

Half a kilo of cocaine was recovered during a search at a property in St Helens and two cannabis farms were discovered in St Helens and north Liverpool. Two people have been arrested in connection with the cannabis farms.

Two men were arrested in connection with a robbery in north Liverpool, and a youth was arrested in connection with a shooting in the Lower House Lane area of Norris Green on Saturday.

Assistant Chief Constable Simon Byrne said: “We are delighted with the results of this operation.

“The work we have carried out in the last 24 hours reinforces our commitment to our Total Policing approach.

“Merseyside Police has arrested more that 6,200 people since the start of the Total Policing operations in July 2006. Through targeted policing raids and operations, we aim to build on these successes in the future.

THE DAILY POST