By Humberside Police ‘punching above its weight’ with drug seizures
Humberside Police say they are ‘punching above [their] weight’ after new government figures show extremely high drug seizures in the past year.
The new Road Crime Team and targeted raids have helped to catch dealers across the area.
Home office firgues show 1,773 seizures of illegal drugs were carried out by Humberside Police between April 2020 and March 2021.
Nearly 500 of these involved Class A drugs, such as cocaine, crack, ecstasy, heroin and methadone – making Humberside the best force in the region in terms of tackling drugs.
The seizures of ecstasy were the fourth highest for any police force in the country.
Cannabis plants and herbal cannabis were also found as Class B drugs were seized over over 1,100 times.
Chief Constable Lee Freeman said: “One of the reasons behind these seizure figures for Humberside is our forcewide Op Galaxy operation, which targets the highest harm offenders. Furthermore, the additional 650 police officers that I have been able to bring in over the past five years has transformed the presence and capabilities that we have to make the region a more difficult place for offenders to commit crime without getting caught.
“Taking drugs off the streets remains a priority for these operations and we have conducted hundreds of warrants, targeting properties known to be hubs of drug dealing or production, based on the information passed to us from members of the public.”
Roughly 700 more drug seizures were carried out compared to the previous year, which the force says is due to targeted action on the issue.
Chief Constable Lee Freeman added: “The impact that drugs and drug-related crime can have on a community should not be underestimated and it is something that we take incredibly seriously. When local communities see people dealing drugs in their neighbourhoods, they have a right to expect that we will do something about it and I have a responsibility to ensure that we do.
“In the past two months, we seized more than £400k of cannabis plants in two warrants carried out by Op Galaxy and Neighbourhood Policing Teams in Scunthorpe alone. In addition to this, one warrant in Hull in November saw £6k of cocaine taken off the streets.
“Recently released ONS statistics showed that, in the 12 months up to September 2021, Humberside saw a rise in drugs offences against an overall reduction nationally. This is good news as it shows our methods are working.”
The list of drugs that were seized in the Humberside region last year are as follows:
- 11kg cocaine
- 1kg crack
- 32,000 doses of ecstasy
- 1kg heroin
- 2000 doses of methadone
- 108kg of herbal cannabis
- 5794kg cannabis plants
- 1kg amphetamines
- 1kg ketamine
- 8000 benzodiazepine
- Synthetic cannabinoids – 3kg
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