Six held on stolen haul

A major haul of stolen property has been recovered from houses in Kidderminster which could be part of a bigger money laundering racket, it was revealed today.

Three men and three women have been arrested on suspicion of theft, handling stolen goods, conspiracy and money laundering following the raids in Park Lane on Thursday evening.

Police have closed the nearby Castle Pub, until further notice while investigations continue.

But officers refused to say whether the pub was involved.

The stolen property worth £5,000 includes clothing, chocolate, perfumes, bottles of alcohol, meat, cheese, watches, jewellery, jars of coffee, toiletries, aftershave, perfume, and around half a dozen toys.

Residents living on Park Lane said they saw police arrive in two vans on Thursday evening and saw officers leave with more than 40 bags of goods.

One resident said: "Police arrived in the afternoon first and started taking pictures in the street.

"They then came back later on and the next thing we saw around 45 bags of stuff were being loaded into their vehicles. It did cause a bit of interest, but I wasn't that shocked actually."

Members of the Wyre Forest Local Policing Tasking Team discovered the items at several properties in the town.

Sergeant Kevin Lane, who leads the team set up to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour, said: "An estimated £5,000 worth of items have been recovered. We believe these were probably stolen to order from the town centre stores. This was a major haul and we are investigating whether it is part of a wider money laundering and drugs ring."