A 33 year old man from Swanage in Dorset has been arrested on suspicion of drugs offences following the discovery of a substantial amount of illegal drugs at an address in Swanage.
The police raid which involved the local neighbourhood police teams and response officers happened in the morning of Tuesday 16th July 2024 at a property in Northbrook Road.
The illegal drugs were seized and put into evidence bags
“Large amount of various drugs”
Along with the haul of class A and class B drugs, were a number of mobile phones, which may have been used to arrange drug deals. An extendable baton, which could be used as a weapon, was also discovered.
Purbeck Police reported:
“Officers from the Purbeck North and Purbeck South Neighbourhood Policing Teams along with their response colleagues conducted an enquiry at an address in Northbrook Road, Swanage where a large amount of various drugs were located.
“Also seized was an extendable baton and numerous mobile phones.
“The investigation into these finds is ongoing.”
Among the finds were a number of mobile phones
Operation Scorpion
This discovery of illegal drugs follows a separate incident in Swanage on Tuesday 11th June 2024, when a large number of colourful pouches containing cannabis and other drugs were seized by police.
At the time, there were a number of drugs raids across Dorset as part of Operation Scorpion, a well established operation across South West England targeting criminal gangs and individuals who deal drugs.
Figures released by the police following the week long operation, showed that across the South West of England from Monday 10th to Sunday 16th June 2024 there were:
- 64 arrests
- £152,173 worth of drugs seized
- £198,088 cash seized
- 29 weapons were seized
- 28 vulnerable people safeguarded
- As well as a quantity of clothing, motorbikes and high value cars were also seized
In June 2024 a large quantity of bags containing illegal drugs but designed to look like sweet packets were seized in raids in Swanage
“Community intelligence”
Responding to the Operation Scorpion success, assistant chief constable of Dorset Police, Mark Callaghan said:
“First of all I would like to thank the public for the information they have provided, and continue to provide, about drug related activity in their areas.
“I cannot overemphasise how important this community intelligence is to the success of operations like Scorpion. It helps us to target our resources effectively and where they are most needed.”
Dorset Police and crime commissioner, David Sidwick
“Peddling their miserable trade”
As part of Operation Scorpion there was also a large quantity of mobile phones seized.
Dorset Police and crime commissioner, David Sidwick added:
“The mobile phones and the information stored in them are key to catching criminals further up the chain of supply and that’s what we all want to achieve, we all want to get to those at the top of the chain and stop organised crime groups from peddling their miserable trade in our county and across the South West.”
Contact Dorset Police
Dorset Police is asking anyone with information about illegal drugs activity in Dorset to report it online or by calling 101.
They say information is treated in confidence, but may be reported anonymously through Crimestoppers, which can be contacted 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year on 0800 555 111 or via the non-traceable online form
