Op Viper: Drug dealing crackdown sees 76 'disruptions' in Dorset
230 vulnerable adults and children in the South West being safeguarded
Twenty people were arrested in Dorset last week as police tried to crack down on drug networks.
It was the second phase of Operation Viper, a joint operation with all five police forces in the South West, including Dorset.
More than 230 vulnerable adults and children are also now being safeguarded across the region following the operation.
The focus of this phase was on the impact of drugs within the local communities and the intelligence police forces need from the public to help disrupt the South West drugs market, dismantle drugs supply networks and arrest those who profit from them.
The first phase of the operation took place in March 2022 and resulted in the arrest of nearly 200 people, disruption to 400 drug lines, seizing over £400,000 in suspected drugs and £130,000 in cash and saw over 300 vulnerability and welfare checks being carried out.
The second phase, which ran from Monday 4th July to Friday 8th July, resulted in 76 total disruptions in Dorset.
These included:
• 40 drug line disruptions
• 20 arrests
• £41,170 cash seized
• Operational highlights: 56 addresses visited linked to vulnerable victims, cannabis factory (estimated to be worth £20,000) located and one individual arrested in possession of more than £10,000 worth of drugs.
Assistant Chief Constable Rachel Farrell, of Dorset Police, said:
“Operation Viper is our approach to target those who are believed to be bringing drugs into our county to sell and deal in our communities. This causes significant harm, particularly on young and vulnerable people, enticing them to get involved in drug dealing or wider criminality.
“This is something we as a Force are not going to tolerate and we want to work with the residents of Dorset and our partners to stamp out this organised crime that blights our communities and puts people at harm.
“We’ve seen some impressive results in Dorset during this week of action including a large number of arrests, the dismantling of a suspected cannabis factory worth around £20,000 and the arrest of a man who reportedly had £10,000-worth of drugs on him and I’d like to thank our hard working officers and staff for their efforts.
“We will take this fight to the criminals and are determined to be tough on crime and stamp out county lines and drugs activity which has no place in Dorset.”
David Sidwick, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset said:
“On behalf of all the five regional Police and Crime Commissioners, I want to thank all the officers and staff from across the partnership who have put in so many hours into making phase 2 of Operation Scorpion such a success.
"I know that all of the PCC’s share the same objective here – to make the whole of the South West region a hostile environment for drug criminality and county lines.
“As Police and Crime Commissioners we know that criminals don’t see county borders and Op Scorpion shows those criminals that we too can work in the same way – put simply - there is no hiding place.
“The Op Scorpion partners will continue to work together - targeting criminality, taking drugs off our streets, sharing intelligence, protecting the vulnerable and putting a ring of steel around the South West.”
Anyone with information about illegal drugs activity should report it to their local police service online or via 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.
To pass on information anonymously, speak to the independent charity Crime stoppers 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year on 0800 555 111 or use their non-traceable online form. Contact will remain 100% anonymous.
They will never ask for a name or contact details and the phone call or online report will never be traced. If the information supplied leads to an arrest and charge, there could be a cash reward of up to £1,000.