Devon and Cornwall remain hostile to drug dealers

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Alison Hernandez, has now launched the sixth round of Operation Scorpion – a joint exercise between five South West forces – outside former South Devon nightclub Bohemia where information from local people led to a major drugs growing operation being shut down in June and a dealer getting a five-month jail term.

She is asking for people to watch out for signs of county lines dealing – where drugs are transported, usually by children or vulnerable people who are coerced into it by gangs – and report information to police or anonymously to charity Crimestoppers.

“Information from the community led to a huge drugs-growing operation being shut down in the last round of Operation Scorpion,” the Commissioner said.

“This dangerous and exploitative cannabis factory was being run in my home town, hidden in plain sight. Thanks to information handed to police or Crimestoppers, Torquay is a safer place and another dangerous drugs dealer is behind bars.

“I am now working relentlessly with Police and Crime Commissioners from around the South West, and their respective forces, to ensure that county lines dealing operations can be driven out of our villages, towns and cities by police working hand in hand with local people.”

The Commissioner’s network of 350 councillor advocates – local authority members who work with community policing teams around the two counties – have been given Operation Scorpion posters which ask people to report the signs of county lines dealing in young or vulnerable people. These can be:

A child or young person going missing from school or home, or significant changes in emotional wellbeing
A person meeting unfamiliar adults or a change to their behaviour
The use of drugs and alcohol
Unexplained bus or train tickets
Acquiring money or expensive gifts they can’t account for
Lone children from outside of the area
Individuals with multiple mobile phones, tablets or SIM cards.
Use of unusual terms - e.g. "going country"
Young people with more money, expensive clothing, or accessories than they can account for
Unknown or suspicious-looking characters coming and going from a neighbour’s house
Relationships with controlling or older individuals, or associations with gangs
Suspicion of self-harm, physical assault, malnutrition or unexplained injuries
In June, police seized 416 cannabis plants, with an estimated street value between £116,480 and £349,440, from disused Torquay nightclub Bohemia, in Torwood Street, after a tip-off from a member of the public. Idajet Beqiri, 24, of no fixed abode, was charged with being concerned in the production of controlled Class B drug cannabis. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five months’ imprisonment at Exeter Crown Court later that month.

More recently, Devon & Cornwall Police were supported by the Op Medusa team from Merseyside Police at the end of September to target drugs supply and related offences in and around Plymouth.  

In excess of 100 officers and staff supported the activity including Intelligence teams, Proactive Disruption, Police Dogs and Drones, Local Policing and Specialist Roads Policing Officers.

Teams were deployed on foot across the city, in unmarked traffic cars and specialist Medusa cars. They utilised intelligence from local systems, local knowledge, ANPR technology and witnessed criminal behaviours and as a result, over the two-day operation the police arrested 50 people and seized:

Drugs including heroin, cannabis, cocaine and suspected LSD
Weapons including knives, a crossbow and gas-powered air weapons
More than £30k in cash
Seized multiple cars, vans and motorbikes.
Devon & Cornwall Police Detective Inspector Kev Morley said: “We have achieved some significant disruptions through our proactive work over the last couple of days which have included removing drugs and weapons from the streets of our city.

“The teams have stopped and seized vehicles which are believed to be linked to drug supply and arrested people for a range of offences including driving under the influence of drugs, possession with intent to supply and possession of offensive weapons.

“This work is ongoing all the time but during these periods of intensification, we can really target the criminal behaviour and disrupt the activity.”

DI Morley added: “Working in collaboration with Merseyside Police and their specialist County Lines teams makes such a difference to what we can achieve during these operations, and we will continue these deployments with them across the force in the future to make Plymouth a hostile environment if you intend to supply drugs.”

Head of Proactive Investigation, Detective Superintendent Jon Bancroft said: “Drugs suppliers deliberately target and exploit some of the most vulnerable people in Devon and Cornwall. We have zero tolerance for this and any illegal behaviours associated with these types of crimes.

“Information directly passed to us by you or anonymously through CrimeStoppers is a critical part of ensuring we protect these vulnerable people, as Devon and Cornwall is no place for drugs supply and the misery on which it survives. That is a key role for Policing to proactively attack those lines of supply and we will continue to utilise your information as well as that we gather from officers and partner agencies to support the victims.

“The information reported to us helps to build the picture of some of the hidden harms within our area and I urge and encourage anyone who sees or has information about illegal activity in their community, to please report it to us.”

Inspector Darren Wallace from Merseyside Police said: “Officers from Project Medusa, Merseyside’s initiative to tackle county lines drug dealing and child criminal exploitation, continue to work alongside colleagues from Devon and Cornwall to close county lines and safeguard vulnerable individuals from the grip of toxic gangs.

“This is Merseyside’s fourth deployment to the area to target county lines drug dealing and shows our ongoing commitment to work across borders to relentlessly pursue those involved in the supply of drugs and exploitation.”

“The results from this joint operation showcase the success of working together with other forces to take suspected county lines offenders off our streets.

“Our work to catch these criminals and bring them to justice continues on a daily basis and I would ask anyone who has information about this kind of activity to come forward so action can be taken.”

Anyone with information about suspected drug dealing in their community can report it to police via the 101 non emergency contact service, or 999 if a crime is in progress. Information can be passed anonymously to the force, via the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111 or on the website crimestoppers-uk.org.