Two arrests were made and more than 50 vehicles stopped in a police operation targeting drug crime and country lines.

On February 24 and 25 officers stopped vehicles and spoke to the drivers after using automatic number plate recognition technology to identify people of interest.

Three Rivers Police led the joint operation – Operation Scorpion – with teams from both the Safer Neighbourhood Team and the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit.

A 40-year-old man from Watford was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst over the prescribed limit of alcohol, driving on a revoked license, driving with no insurance and possession of class A drugs.

He has since been charged and is awaiting a court date.

A 27-year-old man from Chesham in Buckinghamshire was arrested on suspicion of driving whilst unfit through drink or drugs and possession of class B drugs.

He has been released on bail.

The team also carried out 19 stop searches under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, and Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Three people were found to have drugs on their person and were reported for possession at the roadside.

Four Traffic Offence Reports were issued to drivers who were not wearing a seatbelt.

Four Section 59 notices were issued to people who they had witnessed driving in a careless or anti-social manner – if the driver continues to behave “inconsiderately” behind the wheel, the vehicle will be seized by police.

Three further drivers initially failed to stop for police but all three were later located and dealt with by officers. Two of those vehicles were seized for having no valid insurance, with the drivers reported at the roadside.

Three Rivers Chief Inspector Alex Warwick said: “Operations like this are an excellent example of how fundamental partnership working is to the police service. It’s true that they require substantial resources but they nearly always provide us with an excellent opportunity to disrupt criminality in Hertfordshire.”