Samurai sword, guns and over £100k worth of drugs seized in week of raids

A samurai sword, “huge quantities of crack”, and guns are among the finds made by Wiltshire Police in a series of raids.

Police found £103,000 worth of drugs, £79,475 in cash and a variety of weapons resulting in 10 arrests between June 10 and June 16

This is part of the latest phase of Operation Scorpion – a cross-force attempt to target gangs and drug dealers involved in county lines activities.

Five weapons were seized: a Samurai sword, machete, a knuckleduster and two guns.

From the 18 addresses visited, an e-bike and £230,000 worth of clothes and watches were also taken along with crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and cannabis.

(Image: Wiltshire Police)

The addresses were described as “cuckooed”. This is when drug dealers offer vulnerable people free drugs or money in exchange for using their homes as a base for dealing.

As well as targeting gangs and suspected dealers and suppliers, police stepped-up patrols of known hotspots and “used technology to disrupt county lines activities”.

The Wiltshire Police seizures make up a large proportion of the total results of Operation Scorpion which is also run by Dorset, Devon & Cornwall, Avon & Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

In total, there have been 64 arrests, 28 vulnerable people safeguarded, £152,173 worth of drugs, £198,088 cash and 29 weapons seized.

Wiltshire Police Detective Chief Inspector Megan Elkins said: “Operation Scorpion allows us to work together with colleagues from across the South West to ensure the region is no place for drugs.

“Through excellent proactive work, featuring a number of specialist teams across the Force, we were able to execute a series of warrants across the county, resulting in substantial amounts of drugs, cash and jewellery being seized.

“These are excellent results and mean that a significant amount of drugs have been removed from our streets, as well as disrupting these organised networks which bring so much misery to our communities.

“Our work doesn’t end here as we will continue our efforts to investigate those arrested, take more drugs off our streets, share intelligence and protect the vulnerable.

“We also need the public to continue to report whenever they suspect drug dealing, so we can build up our intelligence picture to allow officers to focus first on where the problem is worst.”

Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Wilkinson said: “Operation Scorpion is the South West regional collaboration to tackle county lines and demonstrates a border-less approach to policing to reduce the serious harm and violence caused by drugs across the whole region, as drug crime isn’t just a problem in urban police areas.

“Drug crime, and the violence that usually accompanies it blights the lives of our residents and the communities they live in.

“By continuing to report your concerns to the police they are better placed to tackle the issues head on and take action as demonstrated by Operation Scorpion.”

The five involved forces are working with the British Transport Police, South West Regional Organised Crime Unit and the independent charity Crimestoppers are working to make the southwest “a hostile environment” for drug crime.

Anyone with information about illegal drug activity should report it to their local police service online or using the non-emergency 101 telephone line. Always call 999 in an emergency.

Alternatively, pass information anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year on 0800 555 111 or with their non-traceable online form.

It is anonymous and if the information supplied leads to an arrest and charge, there could be a cash reward of up to £1,000.