Almost 3,000 drug arrests in Bristol since 2021
Project ADDER is tackling drug addiction and supply.
A police operation to tackle drugs has led to the arrests of almost 3,000 people in Bristol since 2021.
Project ADDER is tackling drug addiction and supply in the hardest hit local authority areas across England and Wales.
Avon and Somerset Police has also seized 350 weapons - with 819 tests carried out and 465 people offered support for drug and addiction treatment services.
The programme has supported the police make 2,729 interventions against organised criminal gangs, strangling county lines networks which feed the flow of drugs and dislodging criminal operations – maintained through intimidation, violence and exploitation of local people – which dealers seek to profit from.
Officers have seized £9.8 million of cash, made 25,953 arrests and pursued 3,808 drug trafficking and 2,757 weapon possession charge against the individuals behind these ruthless, criminal operations.
The government-funded project has been running in Bristol since 2021, with police taking action to tackle the supply of drugs in the worst affected neighbourhoods. Forces act on intelligence to disrupt the flow of drugs, while working with partners at a local level to divert vulnerable people into treatment and help them recover from their addiction.
Inspector Tom Gent, ADDER Lead at Avon and Somerset Police, said: “Project ADDER has seen some fantastic results so far in Bristol, not only in relentlessly pursuing those who are intent on bringing drug crime and harm into our communities, but also in seeking to provide early intervention and diversion for those who are vulnerable to their effects.
“From carrying out our ADDER work, we’ve been able to work with various partners and charities to offer support and alternative pathways to prevent people from getting involved with drugs and drug-related crime. Just from taking this more holistic approach, I hope that it demonstrates the caring side of policing as well as the side that seeks to disrupt perpetrators and criminals from acting in our area.”
Combatting Drugs Minister Chris Philp said: “These results show Project ADDER is having a significant impact. This Home Office funding has been brought together with funding for treatment and recovery to help clamp down on the gangs in the hardest hit local authorities, who don’t care about the fatal consequences of the substances in the drugs they are selling.
“Ridding streets of dangerous drugs is only one part of Project ADDER. Vulnerable people are supported by tailored programmes to coax them away from addictive substances. Every circumstance is different but under Project ADDER more people in these local authorities are getting the vital support they need.”