Suspected criminals got the dreaded knock on the door from Kirklees police officers yesterday.
Teams of detectives and uniformed officers mounted a series of raids on known criminal targets.
The raids were part of the huge Operation Viper, which has been running across West Yorkshire since early December.
And yesterday’s initiative followed weeks of undercover work including intelligence gathering.
By early afternoon, 10 people had been arrested after raids on up to 70 addresses throughout Huddersfield and Dewsbury.
They were held in various parts of Huddersfield and Dewsbury and taken to police stations around the area.
They were being held on suspicion of crimes including robbery, assault and burglary.
Sgt Des Sawdon, of Huddersfield, who helped co-ordinate the raids, said: “The message to the criminals has to be: ‘We are taking the fight against crime right to your doorstep’.
“We spent a long time gathering the necessary intelligence before yesterday’s raids and it all went very well.
“Detectives were joined by teams of uniformed officers and they in turn were supported by custody staff and interview teams at the police stations.
“We liaised closely with the courts to ensure the normal day-to-day system could cope with the extra volume of people being arrested”.
Police carried out searches at all the properties they raided.
They also seized a car belonging to one of the people arrested.
Further arrests are expected as inquiries continue.
The raids were the latest in a series of county-wide initiatives under the umbrella title Operation Viper.
Previous projects have included a series of drugs raids in Dewsbury and Ravensthorpe, high-profile crime prevention team patrols on Huddersfield streets and knife checks at Kirklees College and Huddersfield Bus Station.
A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “Viper is beating crime in West Yorkshire and putting criminals out of action.
“We are targeting the most prolific offenders, making arrests in high crime areas across the county.
“The focus is on delivering total crime reduction, particularly driving down house burglary, theft from vehicles, shoplifting and drugs offences.
“There will be no hiding place for criminals and they won’t be safe in their own homes. We are stepping up our action and taking the fight to the criminals.”
