A regional police crackdown on illegal drug activity resulted in 26 arrests and 48 people, including 19 children, being safeguarded in Devon and Cornwall.
The Operation Scorpion week of action also saw more than £10,000 of cash seized in the Devon & Cornwall Police force area alongside more than 6kg of cannabis and more than 2kg of cocaine.
Alison Hernandez, Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, hailed the 10th iteration of Operation Scorpion, which sees the five South West police forces join together to crack down on drug dealing and associated crime, as an enormous success.
More than 90 people were arrested and £40,000 cash seized across the South West during the week of activity which ran in conjunction with the national County Lines Intensification Week.
In total across the region:
- 95 people were arrested
- £47,863 cash was seized
- 37kg of cannabis, plus 564 cannabis plants were seized
- 3.7kg of cocaine was seized
- 107 people were safeguarded, including 32 children
The week of activity – from November 25 to December 1 – had a particular focus on child criminal exploitation (CCE), where criminals groom and exploit young people into carrying out crimes on their behalf. This often involves drugs and county lines, as gangs use children and vulnerable people to sell drugs and move monies.
Across the week, officers worked with partners to conduct a range of community-led engagement activities on CCE, including talks in schools, educational stalls at high-footfall locations in towns and cuckooing checks for vulnerable adults and children.
A range of enforcement activity also took place, as warrants across the counties resulted in tens of thousands of pounds of cash being seized and Class A and B drugs being taken off the streets.
Commissioner Hernandez said: “Yet again Operation Scorpion has proved an enormous success and sent an unequivocal message to drug dealers and others engaged in illegal drug activity that the South West is no place for drugs.
“Drugs cause untold misery to communities and it’s often the more vulnerable in society who pay the highest price, being preyed upon by ruthless criminals who put them at risk to further their own ends.
“I am pleased that this round of Operation Scorpion has not only taken drugs off our streets, but protected a huge number of people across the South West including children whose lives were at risk of being ruined by illegal drug activity.
“My message to parents or guardians worried about criminal exploitation of young people is to not shy away from having the difficult conversations with a child and know what signs to look out for.”
Anyone concerned can find out more information on signs of exploitation from the Children’s Society at https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/our-work/lookcloser
Speaking on behalf of the five regional police forces, Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Catherine Roper said: “Operation Scorpion is about combining the resources, intelligence and enforcement powers of all the police forces across the South West to create the most difficult environment for those intent on dealing illegal drugs across our region.
“The results from the latest week’s regional activity of arrests and drugs seizures show that we continue to be effective in disrupting the illegal drugs trade – dismantling organised criminal gangs, removing illegal substances from our neighbourhoods and arresting those who deal them.
“We must also remember the on-going work by police and our partners to protect and support vulnerable people – often children and young adults – who are coerced to join these criminal networks. Bribed with gifts and money, once recruited, these victims are usually threatened with or victim to violence, forcing them to remain in these criminal gangs.
“Safeguarding these vulnerable young people, along with protecting everyone in our communities, goes to the heart of the Wiltshire Police priority to create Safer Public Spaces for all.
“Our work doesn’t stop at the end of this latest Operation Scorpion. We know that County Lines 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. Our message remains – the South West is no place for drugs.”
Operation Scorpion is a collaboration between the five police forces in the South West region (Avon and Somerset, Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire), alongside their respective offices of Police and Crime Commissioners, the British Transport Police and South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU) to combine resources to tackle drug supply in the region and make the South West a hostile environment for drugs.