No hiding place for illegal drugs traffickers in latest police raids

• More than 16 suspected drugs traffickers have been arrested and class A drugs worth more than £3,600 have been seized in a series of police raids across Gloucestershire and the West Country
• Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson said, “The principle of co-operation across our five forces enables us to share best practice and helps tackle the problem of anti-social drug use in our communities and show that the South West is no place for drugs.”
• Officers from the region’s five police forces carried out a range of targeted activities and patrols including Gloucester, Cheltenham, Plymouth, Bournemouth, Swindon, Bristol and Bath.

The aim is to make the West Country “No place for drugs”. So it was more than just symbolic that there was no hiding place for a suspected drug trafficker who fled on to the roof of a house targeted by police in Gloucester.

He was one of two men, both in their 30’s, arrested on suspicion of supplying illegal class B drugs after a ’substantial’ amount of cannabis was found drying in the loft of the house. 

In the Forest of Dean, five men were arrested when police swooped following a tip-off that weapons and drugs were being loaded into vehicles.  

Elsewhere, three men were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the supply of illegal drugs, money laundering and alleged immigration violations, after officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Unit seized 1kg of cocaine, 2kg of cannabis and cash with an estimated value of around £135,000.

Assistant Chief Constable Rich Ocone said: “Illegal drugs cause immense misery to communities. Those involved in the production and supply of them are frequently involved in violence and the exploitation of vulnerable people, while those who purchase them often become involved in other criminality such as shoplifting and burglary to fund their habits.

“Officers throughout Gloucestershire work hard every day of the year to disrupt drug activity and to bring those responsible to justice. Drug offenders do not work within policing boundaries and weeks of action such as this show how police forces across the region work together – sharing intelligence to take harmful drugs off our streets and make arrests.”

Altogether, 14 men allegedly involved in the illegal drugs trade in Gloucestershire were arrested in a week-long series of covert raids around the county.

As a result, police and partners seized a substantial amount of cocaine and cannabis with a street value around £300,000, recovered up to £1500 in cash and contraband vapes, cigarettes and tobacco worth more than £10,000.

Chris Nelson, Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Gloucestershire, said: “The principle of co-operation across our five forces enables us to tackle the problem of anti-social drugs in our communities and show that the South West is no place for drugs.

“Regular, combined operations like this demonstrate a united approach to policing in an attempt to reduce the serious harm and violence caused by drugs across the whole region, whether it’s in urban or rural areas”.  

Nick Evans, Deputy PCC and Chair of Gloucestershire’s Combating Drugs Partnership said: “We are determined to send out a message that our county is no place for drugs, and intensive, focused operations like these are about acting on the vital intelligence that our residents provide. Getting drugs off our streets and criminal dealers out of our communities.

“We know that county lines groups, involving criminals who supply and distribute illegal drugs across our borders, creating complex networks of drugs lines around the region, will continue. However, in response, we will continue to take a strong and robust stance against exploitative criminality”.

South West regional drugs intensification weeks are a collaboration between the region’s five Police and Crime Commissioners and the South West’s five police forces in Dorset, Devon & Cornwall, Avon & Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. Sharing resources to make the South West a hostile environment for those who deal drugs and engage in anti-social drug taking activity.

The latest, week-long phase coincided with a nationwide initiative called Operation Mille, which targeted organised networks that are directly involved in cannabis cultivation. Removing cannabis with the street value of £45,746,000 and disrupting violence, exploitation and organised crime across England and Wales.  Operation Mille stems from years of investigations and information focused on organised crime groups who are directly involved in the growing and selling of large quantities of so-called commercial cannabis on an industrial scale. Police forces, regional organised crime units and partner organisations across England and Wales all participated with impressive results, including:

• 346 warrants and searches
• 45,746 plants seized, worth an estimated street value of £45,746,000 (based on an average of £1,000 per plant).
• 225 individuals have been arrested 
• 59 weapons have been seized, including 14 firearms
• £183,299.75 in cash seized
• 17 individuals suspected of being victims of modern slavery and human trafficking have been referred to the National Referral Mechanism to receive appropriate support

Anyone with information about illegal drugs activity should report it to their local police service online or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.