Police have charged a man and a woman with drug offences after a pursuit involving a motorcycle at Cessnock on Sunday morning.
Police were patrolling Aberdare Road, Cessnock, when they tried to pull over a stolen Yamaha road bike at 2am.
The motorcycle failed to stop and police gave chase for 16 kilometres, ending in Campbell Street, Ellalong, when the motorbike was laid down on its side.
The male rider ran from the scene, leaving behind a 20-year-old woman passenger, who was arrested by police. A perimeter was established and the man, aged 24, was arrested more than an hour later hiding on a rural property.
A large amount of drugs and cash was allegedly found in the possession of both.
They were both taken to Cessnock Police Station, where the man was charged with driving a stolen vehicle, being involved in a police pursuit, driving with a disqualified licence, dealing with the proceeds of crime, supplying and possessing a prohibited drug and entering enclosed lands.
He was refused bail to appear at Maitland Local Court on Monday.
The woman was charged with supplying and possessing a prohibited drug, dealing with the proceeds of crime and carrying a cutting weapon on apprehension.
She was granted conditional bail to appear at Cessnock Local Court on Wednesday, June 27.
In an unrelated incident, a 69-year-old man and a 16-year-old girl were seriously injured in a trike crash on the Central Coast.
Police and emergency services were called to the Pacific Highway at Mount White about 12.30pm on Sunday after reports the trike had crashed into a guard rail.
The man was treated by paramedics at the scene before being taken to Royal North Shore Hospital in a critical condition.
The girl was treated for serious leg injuries and flown to Royal North Shore.
Southbound lanes of the M1 motorway were closed for several hours on Sunday after a serious motorcycle crash near Jolls Bridge.
Meanwhile, a man faced Newcastle Bail Court on Sunday after an attempted robbery at a Gateshead service station on Saturday.
A man entered a service station on the Pacific Highway at Gateshead at 4.55pm and allegedly threatened staff with a knife and demanded money.
Police say the employee sought safety in a back room of the building and the man ran from the store.
There were no reports of injuries.
Police began a search and found the man at an address in Windale.
He was arrested and taken to Belmont Police Station.
The 20-year-old Gateshead man was charged with robbery armed with an offensive weapon and breaching bail.
