Five more arrested over A66 crash as total reaches 17

What we know about the A66 crash investigation

A 16-year-old boy and two men, aged 18 and 21, were held on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group, BBC News reported on Tuesday.

A 55-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender and a 23-year-old on suspicion of making threats to kill. All five remain in custody.

Two other men have been charged, one with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, the other with drug supply offences.

PC Tom Clough, 38, and PC Matthew Blades, 37, died when a Volkswagen Passat travelling the wrong way at South Bank hit their armed response vehicle at 03:39 BST on Saturday.

The passengers in the Passat were identified as Michael Robert Cahill, 23, Jacob Matusiak, 23, Makai Saddington, 18, Theo Rae, 17, and Cole Robert Worthy, 17, who all perished in the accident.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said officers pursued the Passat for almost seven minutes, abandoning the chase seconds before impact.

Following suspicion of involvement with criminal syndicate, twelve people aged 19 to 61 had already been arrested across Teesside on Monday.

Both vehicles involved were using cloned plates.

The charges cover the same ground as the large-scale drugs busts and illegal firearms seizures forces link to organised networks.

Wayne Fox, Assistant Chief Constable of Cleveland Police said: "This has been a fast moving and complex investigation, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity."

A GoFundMe appeal for the officers' families has passed £850,000, according to Metro. Cleveland Police say the investigation continues.