Mercedes driver arrested on M61 after being caught under the influence of drugs for second time in one month

Police stopped the driver of a Mercedes on the M61 at around 9.30am on Tuesday (October 18).

He was pulled over as part of Operation Vanquish – a fortnight of action to tackle crime on the roads.

The driver – a 24-year-old from Haslingden – subsequently provided a positive saliva test for cannabis.

He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, to which he responded “it wasn’t fair”.

The same man was also arrested on October 2 on suspicion of the same offence.

He was later released under investigation in relation to both stops, with police adding enquiries were ongoing.

Insp Rob Conolly-Perch, of the Lancashire Police TacOps team, said: “Operation Vanquish is a fortnight of surge activity, this time tackling road-related crime.

“Proactively stopping vehicles is part and parcel of our daily business, but during this fortnight we have extra dedicated resources carrying out this kind of work, stopping vehicles where we believe an offence is being committed.

“We will be looking for everything from vehicle defects to impaired driving or using the road network to transport stolen vehicles.

“Our message is simple: if you break the law, we will catch up with you. We are acting on intelligence and will use all technology available to us to achieve this."

You can report suspected criminality on the roads by calling 101 or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.