£10,000 worth of Heroin seized from a car on its way to Dorset
Dorset's Police and Crime Commissioner says the message is clear, “We don’t want drugs in the southwest”
Dorset Police has initiated phase three of Operation Scorpion to support the government’s ten-year drug strategy.
Dorset Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: “We have had two iterations of Operation Scorpion so far and we have taken over £1 million worth of drugs and we have blocked significant packages coming into Dorset.”
Operation Scorpion is a joint initiative between five police and crime commissioners to cease drugs and mitigate recreational drug use in the southwest.
Phase three of the operation has seen Dorset Police join forces with Avon and Somerset Police, Devon and Cornwall Police, Wiltshire Police and Gloucestershire Constabulary to tackle the use of drugs in the evening and night-time economy
Mr Sidwick said: “With phase three of Operation Scorpion, we’ve said clearly when you go out at night, don’t bring drugs and we made a huge awareness campaign to make certain that people think twice.”
The operation aligns with the Government’s ten-year drug strategy called “from harm to hope” which stresses that “drugs ruin lives” and aims to stop young people from turning to drugs.
Bournemouth ranks in top 10 for opiate and cocaine use
Mr Sidwick said: “Bournemouth is in the top ten towns for opiate and cocaine use so this is an issue on the streets of Dorset, but we are determined to address it. You’ve seen that with Operation Scorpion.”
There is also a local initiative around county lines and drugs in the community called Operation Viper which aims to make life as difficult as possible for members of county lines drug gangs.
Operation Viper sees a team of officers working alongside local neighbourhood policing teams to use intelligence and enforcement to tackle county lines gangs and make the region a hostile place for dealing drugs.
David Sidwick said: “Both operations are successful, both are paying dividends.”
“We don’t want drugs in the Southwest.”
The police are asking citizens to give them intelligence relating to drug dealing and anti-social drug taking at the email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk.
David Sidwick urges people to help, he said: “every piece of information the police get, they will use. You can really help us by giving us the intelligence we need to really make a difference.”