MORE than 60 arrests were made across the South West and drugs worth more than £150,000 were seized in a week-long series of police raids, it can now be revealed.

Huge quantities of crack cocaine, cannabis and heroin; weapons including a number of firearms, a Samurai sword, machete and knives, were also recovered in the latest phase of Operation Scorpion, an initiative involving the South West’s five police forces, including Devon and Cornwall Police.

Figures just released show that across the region there were: 64 arrests; £152,173 worth of drugs seized; £198,088 cash seized; 29 weapons were seized and 28 vulnerable people safeguarded.

There was also a quantity of clothing, motorbikes and high value cars seized.

During the seven days of operations from June 10 to June 16, police teams across the South West targeted gangs and addresses of suspected drugs dealers and suppliers; stepped-up patrols of known hotspots and used technology to disrupt so-called county-lines activities. 

South West regional drugs intensification weeks like Operation Scorpion are a collaboration between the five police forces in the South West region – Dorset, Devon & Cornwall, Avon & Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

The region’s five Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), the British Transport Police, South West Regional Organised Crime Unit and the independent charity Crimestoppers are also combining their resources to tackle drug supply in the region and make the South West a hostile environment for those who deal drugs and engage in anti-social drug taking activity.

The scale of Operation Scorpion 8 across Devon and Cornwall is reflected in the results: 15 people were arrested, of which 5 have been charged with various offences; 25 people have been safeguarded, 17 adults and 8 children and £170 worth of vapes containing THC have also been seized.

The largest single seizure was of cocaine with £9,360 in Cornwall.

Another Class A seizure was of heroin worth £3,500. Cannabis packages were also seized totalling approximately £7,000 and also over £11,000 worth of cash was seized.

Additional packages of both Class A and Class B drugs and a cannabis grow were also intercepted to a value of £20,000.

Assistant Chief Constable Jim Pearce said: ‘Devon & Cornwall Police is committed to working with our partners and other forces in the region, to stop the flow of drugs into our counties and to disrupt the associated criminal activity, during intensified operations like Op Scorpion all year round.

‘In Devon and Cornwall, Operation Scorpion 8 has denied approximately £40,220 worth of drugs, weapons and cash to criminal gangs and individuals, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.

‘We also want to bring relief to communities blighted by the antisocial behaviour, crime and fear which accompanies the misuse of drugs, and to safeguard vulnerable people.

‘The results of Operation Scorpion 8 show we are achieving this, and I cannot overemphasise how important the intelligence we receive from the public is in helping us to target our resources.’