A 16-year-old boy is among five more people arrested by detectives investigating links to “serious and organised criminal activity” linked to to a crash on the A66 that killed two police officers and five young men.
It brings the total number of arrests to 17 following the fatal crash near Middlesbrough in the early hours of Saturday.
PC Matthew Blades, 37, and PC Tom Clough, 38, were killed when a Volkswagen Passat, which had been pursued by police, was driven the wrong way along a dual carriageway and hit their marked armed-response vehicle.
Twelve people were arrested on Monday in connection with the crash. Cleveland Police say they have now arrested five more people with the help of the National Crime Agency and the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit.
The force said those arrested on Tuesday were a boy aged 16, an 18-year-old and a man of 21, all on suspicion of participating in an organised crime group; a 23-year-old on suspicion of making threats to kill and a 55-year-old on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Four of the people previously arrested are accused of possessing Class A and B drugs with intent to supply.
Two of the 12 have already appeared in court. Kai Beattie, 19, of Foxrush Court, Redcar, appeared before Teesside Magistrates’ Court charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life, according to police.
Cameron George, 26, of Micklow Close, Redcar, was remanded in custody to appear at Teesside Crown Court on 21 September charged with drugs offences and possession of criminal property.
Detectives say the five young men in the Passat may have had links to “serious and organised criminal activity”.
Four of the five had criminal convictions, and were believed to be linked with another car that had rammed properties earlier that morning.
Inquests are due to open on Thursday morning for the two officers.
Inquests on the five people in the Passat, Cole Robert Worthy, 17, Theo Rae, 17, Makai Saddington, 18, and 23-year-olds Michael Robert Cahill and Jacob Matusiak, are scheduled for the afternoon at Teesside Magistrates’ Court.
Cleveland Police say they received reports of two cars being driven dangerously on the morning of the collision.
The first, believed to be a Volvo XC60, was seen ramming properties in the Middlesbrough area.
The second, a Volkswagen Passat, is believed to have been linked with the activities of the Volvo. Police said both cars had cloned number plates but were picked up by automated number-plate-recognition technology.
The Volvo was later found in Middlesbrough.
Police said there was no evidence that filming of the activities on Friday night and Saturday morning was “for the purposes of TikTok”.
Last week, four people were seriously injured in Ireland when a BMW sped the wrong way up a motorway, smashing into a family car, amid a surge in reckless driving for videos to post on social media. The five teenage boys in the BMW were killed.
Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Fox, of Cleveland Police, responsible for the strategic leadership of the investigation, said: “This has been a fast-moving and complex investigation, with significant links to serious and organised criminal activity.”
He added: “We have a duty to respond to, and thoroughly investigate, the serious criminal activity that resulted in this fatal incident, and to bring all those responsible to justice.”
More than £750,000 has been raised for the families of the two police officers who were killed.
A fundraiser created by the Cleveland Police Federation said funds raised would be split equally between the two officers’ families and the federation would continue to provide support.
Cleveland Police launched the chase after receiving intelligence relating to “numerous incidents” linked to a Passat, which activated an ANPR camera and is believed to have been using cloned plates, investigating watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct said.
PC Blades and PC Clough were not involved in the original pursuit but had been called to the area to help search for the Passat.
Family members described PC Clough, a former Civil Nuclear Constabulary officer, as “our hero” who was “always on public duty”.
PC Blades’s wife called him “my beloved husband, my best friend, and the most devoted father to our two young boys”.
Tributes for the five young men were also shared on social media, with many of their friends saying they “can’t believe it” and were “heartbroken” and “lost for words”.
An estimated 200 people gathered on Tuesday to release balloons to remember the young men. But many social-media commenters were angry at the balloon releases, saying balloons choke wildlife to death when they deflate and fall to Earth.
Young people in masks reportedly went to the event on scooters, off-road bikes and quad bikes, while boys on bikes carried orange and red flares that filled the sky with smoke.
Paul Williams, acting deputy national chairman for the Police Federation of England and Wales, claimed young people were “baiting police officers” with dangerous driving.
“Every day we can identify now numerous examples of young people sensationalising dangerous driving,” he said.
“Not just dangerous driving, but baiting police officers who are out there to protect the public. It’s a real problem. It’s causing officers concern.
“They shouldn’t have to be going out and worrying about whether they’re going to return home from their shift or not. But on top of that, wondering if they’re going to be plastered all over social media.
“It’s absolutely unacceptable and social media platforms need to take some action.”