Operation Hawk removes £2.6m worth of cannabis from streets

September 21, 2012, 1:14 pm

Cannabis with a street value of more than £2,600,000 was seized across London yesterday and more than 350 arrests made as up to 2,000 officers took part in a major new offensive against drug related crime.

Thirty seven cannabis factories were closed, more than 2,700 cannabis plants were seized and huge quantities of class A drugs were discovered, along with weapons and cash totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds, under Operation Hawk.

As part of the day of action, led by Safer Neighbourhoods Officers, more than 460 warrants were executed as the MPS targeted cannabis farms, crack houses and suspected drug dealers at residential and business premises across the capital.

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It follows a renewed call to the public last week to encourage them to come forward with information about who may be selling or cultivating drugs in their area.

Results from the 32 London boroughs include, half a kilo of heroin found at an address in Tottenham; £200,000 of cocaine recovered in Twickenham; 850 cannabis plants found in a warehouse in Greenwich and £100,000 cash and a large amount of class A drugs found in Barnet.

Weaponry including three handguns were also found at an address in Chingford, a loaded shotgun was seized in Romford and in Bromley a stun gun and ammunition were recovered.

Safer Neighbourhoods officers were supported by colleagues from units including Trident, the specialist drugs command, Mounted Branch, Territorial Support Group (TSG), the Marine Policing Unit, special constables and volunteer police cadets.

More than 800 different activities across the capital, ranging from raids and testing for drugs on surfaces at pubs and clubs to visits to pharmacies to check for any under the counter prescribing and drugs dogs positioned at transport hubs.

Commander Mak Chishty, MPS operational lead for Operation Hawk, said: “This has been an enormously successful day of action- but isn’t confined to just one day of activity – this is a renewed emphasis on local policing teams tackling street level drug dealing and associated crime using local community intelligence and a wide range of tactics and assorted activities.

“Drug dealing damages communities. It generates crime, disorder and anti-social behaviour. The MPS is determined to tackle this issue head on by bringing together our resources to reclaim and help repair areas affected by drug dealing.

“To help us do this, we need to encourage communities to talk to us and report concerns, and we will reward this trust by delivering swift results and telling people what action we have taken. Community intelligence passed to us will be dealt with as quickly as possible and carefully assessed before any action taken.

“With your help we can make your local neighbourhood safer. You make the call, we’ll make it stop.”

While activity to tackle drugs dealing has always been a high priority for the MPS, with major operations carried out with partners against high-level dealers on a regular basis, Operation Hawk is being refocused to increase operational activity on drug dealing at the street level.

The MPS is also responding to concerns from local communities, many of whom cite tackling ‘drugs’ as a priority for local Safer Neighbourhoods teams. Moving forward, local officers will continue to relentlessly pursue drugs related crime on a daily basis. As information about local drug dealing comes in, local officers will seek to verify it, and take appropriate action as quickly as possible.

This could include going to a court to apply for a search warrant, circulating a suspect as wanted, or increasing patrols in particular areas. When action has been taken, local police will inform local communities know what is being done to help rid communities of drug dealers.

Members of the public who have information about who is dealing drugs in their area are urged to contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, or dial 101, the police non emergency number. In an emergency, always dial 999.