Five teenagers have been arrested and charged following a spree of housebreakings and car thefts at three business premises in East Lothian and the Borders which took place between 1.50am and 2.20am on Wednesday morning.
The suspects used stolen cars to get to each area, which were later traced in Edinburgh.
Four boys, aged 16, 16, 17 and 18, will appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court today and a 15-year-old boy has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal.
The arrests were part of a combined resources effort from uniformed and plain clothed officers in the Lothians and Borders and Edinburgh divisions.
The first incident happened on Wednesday around 1.50am when entry was forced to a post office in Stow.
A number of cigarettes were stolen and three previously stolen cars – a VW Golf, Fiat 500 and BMW X5 – were spotted outside the store at the time.
The second incident happened around 2.10am when thieves managed to gain entry to a sandwich store in Longniddry, but nothing was stolen.
The third incident happened around 2.20am at a petrol station in Tranent.
A two-figure sum of cash was stolen along with a quantity of alcohol.
Officers in Dalkeith later recovered the stolen Fiat 500, BMW X5, Vauxhall Astra and an Audi Q7.
Detective Inspector Steven Bertram, of Dalkeith Police Station, said: “Vehicle crime and housebreakings have a huge effect on victims and businesses, and this result shows our desire to tackle these crimes.
“We know this is important to our communities and we’ll continue to work together to track those responsible.
“This is a good result for our officers across the three divisions.”
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
