Immigration and cannabis gangs targeted in national crackdown

A month-long policing operation to target serious and organised crime has seen a number of criminal networks disrupted.

In a bid to crackdown down on offenders linked to organised crime, officers across the country gathered intelligence on individuals linked to a range of offences such including immigration, cannabis cultivation and possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Such offenders are often involved in poly-criminality - multiple crime types that touch different parts of society and can span various locations across and outside of the UK.

Drugs, cash and cars seized 

The operation, led by the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC), took place throughout March and saw ROCUs and police forces focusing on disrupting high harm offenders involved in serious organised crime.

As part of the operation, police made 249 arrests and seized substantial quantities of drugs, cash, and assets believed to be linked to criminal networks. The operation also focussed on gathering further intelligence to enable continued and relentless enforcement. 

In total, officers seized and recovered around:

• 13,100 cannabis plants
• 307kg of non-plant cannabis
• 42.6kg of cocaine
• £352,000 in cash
• 104 vehicles

Nick Bellingham, from the NPCC Serious Organised Crime portfolio, said: 

“This operation reflects the significant effort by police forces and ROCUs, who have worked to develop a detailed intelligence picture enabling us to target and disrupt organised criminals.“Many of these offenders are engaged in organised crime, poly-criminality and exploit the law for their own gains.“Alongside this activity, the operation has also assisted in continuing to build a broader intelligence picture around high‑harm offending.“We remain committed to catching those who are happy to exploit and cause harm to others and will continue to do all we can to protect our communities from harm.”