Gloucestershire Police seize drugs worth £150,000 in operation

Police sniffer dogs were used as part of Operation Vanquish

A police operation has seized more than £150,000 worth of drugs across Gloucestershire.

Operation Vanquish saw police forces across the South West stage a crackdown during a week of action.

The seventh round of the initiative involved officers from Dorset, Devon and Cornwall, Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, Chris Nelson, said: "The pursuit of offenders has no borders."

The operation also involved the British Transport Police, the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SW ROCU), and the charity Crimestoppers.

Gloucestershire Police and Crime Commissioner, Chris Nelson, was pleased with the success of the operation

Mr Nelson said drug-related crimes happen across the countryside, not just in city centres.

"A rural county like Gloucestershire feels the effects of drugs right across it - from the Forest of Dean to the Cotswolds - and our towns and cities in between," he said.

"This week of intensification focused on relentlessly pursuing those causing harm to our communities, but it is also about raising awareness and sharing crime prevention messages to steer people away from crime and drugs in the first place.

"I relish the partnership working that this operation always provides. Gloucestershire, and the whole of the South West, is no place for drugs," added Mr Nelson.

Across the South West region as a whole, the operation led to:

• 126 arrests

• More than £814,000 worth of drugs seized

• More than £95,000 cash seized

• 67 weapons seized and more than 200 weapons surrendered

• 135 vulnerable people safeguarded