Raids, arrests and seizures – give us an extra day a year and look what we can do

Officers from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) spent their extra leap year day executing warrants across the North East as part of an operation to tackle organised drug crime.

The strike day was supported by officers from the National Crime Agency, Durham Police and Northumbria Police and was launched as part of a wider investigation into the importation and supply of cannabis.

Earlier today (Thursday), officers descended upon three addresses simultaneously, one on Candlish Street in South Shields, one on Bluebell Close in Cramlington and the final one on Kirkfields in Sherburn.

The residents got a very early wake-up call which resulted in three men, aged 29, 31 and 32 being arrested on suspicion of importation drug offences and conspiracy to supply Class B drugs. The three suspects remain in police custody at this time.

Searches of the properties also turned up a quantity of suspected Class B drugs, a large quantity of cash, drug paraphernalia and a large ‘Zombie’ knife.

Following the strike day, NEROCU Detective Inspector Martin praised the partnership working and the months of hard work by officers leading up to the day of action.

She said: “This is exactly the type of partnership activity that will continue as part of Operation Sentinel, which is our region-wide response to tackling Serious and Organised Crime.

"The investigation and arrests reaffirm our zero-tolerance approach to drugs and our commitment to rooting out criminality within our communities.

“Drug supply often funds other areas of organised crime such as child sexual exploitation, human trafficking, modern slavery and illegal gun importation so tackling drug crime is vital.

“Drugs and those looking to profit from these illicit activities have no place in our communities and we remain committed to dismantling these organised criminal operations and ensuring those believed to be involved get an early call from us.

“We urge anyone who has information of this type of offending, or has concerns about someone’s behaviour, to come forward and report it.”

If you have any information about suspected criminality, you can report it to your local police or you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by visiting their website or calling 0800 555 111.