More than one hundred people have been arrested in one of the biggest coordinated drug crackdowns the South West has seen this year.
Officers targeted streets, rail lines and entire communities in Plymouth and across the South West during a week of action.
Operation Scorpion 13 brought together five police forces across the South West in a huge drive to tackle county lines and protect vulnerable children caught up in exploitation.
A total of 112 people were arrested, and 48 vulnerable people were safeguarded, including five children.
The operation resulted in the seizure of £67,329, 52kg of cannabis, four guns and five imitation firearms.
Devon and Cornwall Police, working alongside the British Transport Police, created a funnel for passengers entering and leaving Plymouth Railway Station.
People were given the opportunity to drop drugs into an amnesty bin before walking past passive drug detection dog Jasper, who also patrolled trains.
Officers also boarded four trains, carried out nine drug searches, seized drugs and a knife, visited eight stations and found ten people travelling with no tickets.
Inspector Ned Bowie said the operation was about sharing learning and protecting young people. He told Plymouth Plus:
“Scorpion is an operation where police forces from around the South West are all doing activities to target drugs.
"Specifically today we are doing a training exercise where we are working with the British Transport Police.
"Neighbourhood officers from South East Cornwall, a drugs dog and the British Transport Police are coming together for a training exercise to share learning around tackling drugs."
He explained that criminals use trains for county lines activity:
"We know that public transport, including the railway, is used for county lines. We are aware of the impact that activity has on vulnerable individuals and on communities.
"There is ongoing work from both BTP and Devon and Cornwall Police to tackle those issues.”
Inspector Bowie urged the public to report concerns. He added:
“We are asking the public to report anything to us that they find concerning or suspicious.
"We want to tackle this issue, and we need the public to be reporting anything to us that they are concerned about so we can look to address it.”
Assistant Chief Constable Dave Thorne said the force is determined to keep reducing the harm caused by drugs in neighbourhoods from Plymouth to Penzance. He said:
“Operations like this send a clear message that we will continue to target those who choose to profit from causing harm in our communities.
“The outcomes reflect the support of the public who play an important role in helping us identify and disrupt criminal activity, and the hard work and dedication of our staff.
"I encourage anyone with information to contact Devon & Cornwall Police or do it anonymously through Crimestoppers.”
Information can be shared with Devon and Cornwall Police through their online reporting form here or by calling 101.
You can also provide anonymous information to independent charity Crimestoppers via their website here or by calling them on 0800 555 111.
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