Cannabis is the most-seized drug in the North East, Home Office figures have revealed

Thousands of cannabis plants and almost 100kg of herbal cannabis were seized by Durham and Northumbria police in 2014

Thousands of cannabis plants have been seized across the region in the past year.

Home Office figures reveal cannabis to be the most seized drug in the North East.

Northumbria and Durham police uprooted more than 19,000 plants and seized more than 90kg of the drug in other forms over the course of last year.

Officers in the region also seized supplies of drugs such as heroin, methadone, cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy and anabolic steroids, all destined for sale on North East streets.

In 2014, Northumbria police found 15,657 cannabis plants, while Durham police reported 3,684 plants.

Herbal cannabis and cannabis resin were also recovered, with 73.1kg of herbal cannabis seized by Northumbria police and 22.8kg of resin. Durham police seized 21.2kg of herbal cannabis and 1.2kg of resin.

Overall in Northumbria there was a 5% reduction in the number of drugs seized from streets by Northumbria police in 2014. The total number of drug seizures fell from 3,541,000 in 2013 to 3,366,000 last year.

But in Durham the number of drugs seized rose by 22% from 2,317,000 to 2,834,000 for the 2014 financial year.

Police in Northumbria seized 4.2kg of cocaine while Durham seized 3.5kg - making it the most seized Class A drug in the North East with Northumbria seizing 1,200kg of heroin and Durham seizing 200kg of the drug.

Northumbria Police Assistant Chief Constable Jo Farrell said: “As a result of operations over the past year, Northumbria Police has had some hugely successful seizures which has meant large amounts of drugs have been taken from, or prevented from being distributed on, our streets.

“This includes methadone which had the most significant increase due to a single seizure, while there has also been an increase in seizures of anabolic steroids, ketamine and cannabis plants.

“Notably as part of long running investigations targeting drug dealing by an organised crime group in Newcastle, drugs were seized and eight men jailed for drug offences, including one man for 18 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to supply class A drugs.

“We will continue to carry out targeted intelligence-led operations such as this to combat illegal drug use and supply.

“Drugs can have a hugely damaging effect on those taking them, their families and the communities in which they live.

“We also monitor trends and patterns of abuse and work closely with partner agencies and our communities to tackle this and its effects.

“We’d urge anyone with concerns or information about drug use in their area to contact us. By acting on information from residents we’ve had major successes in reducing drug use and supply across the force.

“Working together, we can continue to disrupt those involved in this crime and put an end to the harm and misery their actions cause.”

The biggest contrast between the forces was the number of ecstasy tablets seized with Northumbria collecting 6,300 tablets and Durham police collecting 300.

Detective inspector Graeme Pallas, of Durham police, said: “Drug dealing is a lucrative source of income for organised criminal groups and in the last few years we have mounted a series of actions to target the gangs. These include Operation Nimrod, which was designed to disrupt the illegal drugs market and Operation Sledgehammer, launched in 2010 to cover those involved in all types of organised crime.

“And more recently Operation Boomerang, run by police in Consett has been responsible for dozens of arrests and multiple seizures of both drugs and cash, suspected to be the proceeds of crime.

“Many of the seizures we carry out are the result of intelligence from local communities.

“While people may not always see immediate results we can assure them that any information they provide is recorded and acted upon, whether they contact the police or Crimestoppers, which is an independent charity.”

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/cannabis-most-seized-drug-north-east-8379639 04/01/2015