Police have carried out a series of early morning raids targeting those suspected of being involved in organised crime.
Cleveland Police said 17 people had been arrested during the operation – involving about 130 officers including some from the National Crime Agency – across South Bank, Grangetown and Eston, near Middlesbrough, on Monday.
It is part of a high-profile response to a crash on the nearby A66 last month which came at the end of a police pursuit and left two officers dead.
Five men died also died when their Volkswagen Passat went the wrong way down the road and hit a Cleveland Police armed response vehicle heading in the opposite direction.
The force said Monday’s raids had seen people arrested on suspicion of various offences including drugs and assault.
A convoy of about a dozen vans started the operation shortly after 08:00 BST, with roads temporarily blocked by patrol cars.
Officers used battering rams to force entry to several properties as parents walked past with their children on the school run.