ROAD CRIME BLITZ: Havant and Waterlooville Men Arrested as Police Seize 16 Vehicles in Hampshire Crackdown

A major police crackdown on criminals using Hampshire's roads has swept through Havant, Waterlooville and Portsmouth — with 20 arrests, 16 vehicles seized and drugs found in a three-day blitz.

Operation Pandilla ran from 21 April to 23 April and brought together officers from 10 forces in a coordinated push against suspects accused of using the road network to move between areas and commit serious offences.

The operation covered north and east Hampshire, with patrols targeting routes and locations across Aldershot, Basingstoke, East Hampshire, Fareham, Gosport, Havant, Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Test Valley and Winchester.

For Havant families, the message is blunt: the police operation was not some distant motorway exercise. Our borough and the roads linking it to Portsmouth, Waterlooville and the wider county were part of the dragnet.

## THE NUMBERS ARE STARK

Police stopped 96 vehicles during the operation.

Sixteen vehicles were seized.

Officers made 20 arrests.

There were 15 separate drug seizures.

Those figures were reported by Hampshire media following details from Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, which said the operation focused on people suspected of using cars and routes across force boundaries for high-harm offending.

Inspector Nikki Hopkins, from the Northern Neighbourhood Enforcement Team, said: "This Operation Pandilla has been another success, as we have disrupted criminal activity across force boundaries and made a number of arrests.

"Sharing intelligence with other forces means we can better tackle high harm offenders, including those involved in drug supply.

"We will continue to look at all opportunities and tactics available to us to disrupt offenders and bring criminals to justice."

## HAVANT AND WATERLOOVILLE MEN ARRESTED

The clearest local link came after officers stopped a vehicle in Portsmouth.

According to reports, police stopped a vehicle on Widley Walk on the evening of 22 April. Four men were inside and officers found cannabis, cannabis vapes and cash.

Further searches linked to the stop uncovered more items, including suspected Class A drugs and weapons. A knuckle duster was among the weapons reported.

A 20-year-old man from Waterlooville, a 19-year-old man from Havant, a 19-year-old man from Waterlooville and an 18-year-old man from Havant were arrested.

All four were released on police bail while enquiries continue.

No one should read that as a conviction. An arrest is not proof of guilt, and bail means police are continuing to investigate. But the ages and addresses underline why this story matters locally: young men from Havant and Waterlooville are now caught up in a wider county roads-and-drugs investigation.

## A3M STOP AND SUSPECTED DRUG MESSAGES

The operation also included a stop on the A3M northbound near Petersfield at 5.15pm on 21 April.

Police arrested a 26-year-old man from Kent and a 25-year-old woman from Fareham on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of a Class A drug.

Three phones found in the vehicle were reported to contain suspected drug marketing messages.

Both people were released on police bail with conditions while enquiries continue.

For Havant drivers, the A3M is one of the key routes in and out of the borough. It links local roads to the wider South Hampshire network and is exactly the kind of artery police say can be exploited by criminals moving between towns.

## SUSPECTED CLASS A DRUGS AT RETAIL PARK

Another stop came at 5.40pm on 23 April, when officers witnessed suspected drug activity in the Horizon Retail Park car park in Farnborough.

A search of a parked vehicle uncovered several small bags of suspected Class A drugs.

A 26-year-old man from London was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled Class A drug and was also released on police bail.

Taken together, the incidents show the shape of the operation: cars stopped, intelligence shared, suspected drugs seized, and officers trying to disrupt movement between towns before offences can spread further.

## WHY ROADS MATTER IN LOCAL CRIME

Roads are not just roads in policing terms.

They are escape routes, supply routes and meeting places. The A3M, the A27, the M27, the routes through Waterlooville and the roads into Portsmouth all make Havant a convenient corridor between the coast, the city and inland Hampshire.

That is useful for ordinary residents, workers and businesses.

It is also useful for criminals.

Police operations like Pandilla are built around that reality. Instead of waiting for a crime to happen in one town, forces share intelligence and target movement across borders.

That is why 10 police forces were involved, including Hampshire Constabulary, the Metropolitan Police Service, Surrey Police, Thames Valley Police and Sussex Police. The National Police Air Service also supported the operation.

## WHAT IT MEANS FOR HAVANT

For people in Havant, Leigh Park, Bedhampton, Emsworth and Waterlooville, the most immediate impact is reassurance mixed with concern.

Reassurance, because police are actively targeting suspected organised offending on the roads around the borough.

Concern, because the operation shows how closely local routes can be tied into wider criminal networks.

The arrests do not mean Havant is uniquely unsafe. They do show that our patch is part of a bigger transport web — and that drug supply, cash, weapons and vehicles can move quickly across it.

That is why visible road policing matters. When patrols stop cars, seize vehicles and recover suspected drugs, the effect can reach beyond one junction or one car park.

It can disrupt supply lines before they reach estates, town centres and neighbourhoods.

## THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES

The people arrested in the operation have been released on police bail while enquiries continue.

Police have not announced charges in the reported Havant and Waterlooville-linked arrests.

Operation Pandilla has been described as a success by officers, but the real test will be what follows: whether intelligence gathered during the three days leads to charges, further disruption, and fewer drugs and weapons moving through Hampshire's roads.

For now, the headline is simple.

Twenty arrests. Sixteen vehicles seized. Fifteen drug seizures.

And Havant was right in the middle of it.

Sources: Basingstoke Gazette report on Operation Pandilla; Portsmouth News report on Hampshire Police seizures and arrests; Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary details quoted in local media.