Arrests in Bridport in week of action against criminal drug gangs

Operation Scorpion aims to make the South West hostile to criminals

Criminal drug activity has been targeted across the South West as part of a week-long regional crackdown.

Operation Scorpion sees troops from across the region working together in an effort to make the South West hostile to criminals.

Officers from each force are using intelligence from local communities to tackle the problem during a week of intensive police action.

Mark Callaghan, assistant chief constable at Dorset Police, told us that illegal drug activity is ‘devastating our communities’.

He said: ‘Our collective effort, our collective intelligence, means that we can actually focus on organized crime crossing our borders.

“People don’t suddenly stop in Dorset, they start working between those areas.”

ACC Callaghan said working across borders brings a number of benefits: “Together there is more manpower, more resources and more intelligence to ensure the South West is a toxic area for those who want to commit crimes such as drug trafficking.”

During the intensification week, three arrest warrants and three addresses were executed in Bridport, thanks to local information.

They resulted in the arrest and charge of one woman for possession of Class A drugs at the first address. The second saw a second woman arrested after class B drugs were found at the address.

No drugs were found at the third address, but a man was found there who was wanted in connection with other cases.

Responding to local concerns

ACC Callaghan told us it is not unusual for national organized crime groups to operate in rural areas, but in areas such as Bournemouth, Poole and Weymouth this can be more concentrated.

“But that doesn’t mean we just focus on those areas. It’s important to focus on all of our communities,” he said.

ACC Callaghan added that it is important that the public feels their concerns are being addressed.

He said: “If you or I see suspicious activity on our street, something happens and you report it to the police, you would expect us to do something about it and that is the general feedback we get from our communities for them to tell us this is happening because it is crime, that all has an anti-social impact on their lives.”

He adds that it is vital that we help the Force make the region ‘toxic’ to criminal behaviour.

“We need the help of our communities, to be our eyes and ears in working with our neighborhood teams and providing information to us so that we can build that piece of the puzzle, which means we know where to focus our officers and what we need to focus on in our communities. “

Results of Operation Scorpion for Dorset

In Dorset, 21 arrests were made, four vehicles were seized and a number of weapons were seized, including a hunting knife and brass knuckles. 15 safety visits to vulnerable people were also carried out.

In Bridport, three arrest warrants were executed in one day during an operation led by local police officers during the intensification week.

At one address, a woman was arrested and subsequently charged with possession of a class A drug after a quantity of suspected class A drugs was found on the premises.

At another address, officers discovered a quantity of suspected class B drugs and a woman is assisting officers with their investigation.

Nothing was found at the third address, but a man was found who was wanted in connection with an unrelated case and he was therefore arrested.

In Poole, an intelligence-led operation resulted in a vehicle being stopped and searches uncovered a number of wrappers containing suspected Class A drugs.

A man was subsequently charged with possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply and appeared in court.

In Christchurch, a man and a woman were arrested in a vehicle near the Blackwater Junction on the A338 near Christchurch.

After investigation it turned out that the man was hiding drugs. He was charged with possession of class A drugs with intent to supply and appeared in court.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the supply of class A drugs and has been released pending further investigation.

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