Government and police are claiming success in an initiative to rid the streets of Class A drugs.
Operation Crackdown – a three month campaign by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office has seen police close more than 170 crack houses, take over £13.4 million of drugs off the streets, arrest more than 3,400 class A drug suppliers, and seize cash assets totalling more than £3m.
The results show that during the campaign:
170 crack houses were closed;
123kg of cocaine, 3.4kg of crack cocaine, 119.8kg of heroin and 86,059 ecstasy tablets were taken off the streets;
police arrested 3,419 people for the supply of class A drugs;
1,471 people were charged with class A supply;
483 firearms were seized, 222 firearms and 261 imitation firearms;
police seized 3,402 rounds of ammunition; and
£3,242,932 of cash assets was seized.
What they say
Home Office Minister, Hazel Blears, said: “Operation Crackdown has been a great success and has delivered real benefits to local communities and has made a massive improvement in the quality of life of local people. Thanks to new powers created by the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, action against drug dens has become swifter, simpler and more effective. During Operation Crackdown 170 crack houses were closed down, removing significant opportunities for drug dealing, crimes and anti-social behaviour.
“As a result the police have disrupted dealing in the community, made more arrests and we have fewer guns and drugs on the streets. Police confiscated more imitation firearms than real weapons during the campaign. New proposals set out in the Violent Crime Reduction Bill will deal with this by increasing the penalty for possession of particular realistic imitation firearms and by banning the sale and manufacture of these weapons.
“This campaign has also hit these criminals hard where it matters, in their pockets. Not just with the large amounts of drugs being seized, but also by stripping them of over £3million in assets to pay back some of the damage they have caused.
“Operation Crackdown sends a clear message to drug dealers that their behaviour will not be tolerated. We will continue to work with police and other agencies to target and bring to justice those who bring misery to our communities by the use and supply of illicit drugs."
Andy Hayman, ACPO lead on drugs and Assistant Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police said: "The results of Operation Crackdown demonstrate both the Police Service and Government’s commitment to target and reduce the supply of class A drugs in local communities across the country. Crack cocaine remains a pressing priority for the Police Service given the threat and danger it poses to society. This campaign has shown how targeted enforcement can successfully dismantle class A drug markets by disrupting organised drug dealing syndicates and bringing those involved before the courts. Operation Crackdown has also assisted where appropriate to refer drug users into treatment."
