Cambs Police arrest 48 people and seize more than ?250k

Cambridgeshire Police have arrested 48 people as part of an operation to tackle organised crime groups, exploitation, and drugs distribution in Peterborough^[1] - and 19 of those arrested have been charged with 83 drug offences since the enforcement phase in May 2023.

The arrests came as part of Operation Tsunami, an intelligence-led operation launched to tackle serious and organised crime across the county. The operation had a particular focus on Peterborough, exploitation, drug dealing, and serious street-based violence.

Crack cocaine, cocaine, heroin and cannabis worth more than £250,000 was seized, along with thousands of pounds in cash and assets including vehicles and designer clothing. A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire^[2] Constabulary said: "Officers carried out raids and proactive arrests over three weeks across Peterborough and surrounding areas following months of intelligence gathering into those involved in class A drug supply.

"This intelligence gathering and information sharing was supported by partner agencies, who we continue to work with to provide ongoing support to those vulnerable to exploitation."

Detective Chief Inspector Chris O’Brien, who oversaw the operation, said: "Since April 2020, there have been 28 attempted murders within Peterborough, 14 of those were directly related to drugs and 64 percent of those used a blade or knife, which is why we came up with a new operation to focus on the drugs supply market within the city to particularly focus on these areas. There is a considerable amount of work leading up to any period of enforcement of this magnitude, looking at those individuals that are causing the most threat, harm and risk to the community.

"We looked at drugs supply lines which were involved in the criminal and sexual exploitation of children, serious street-based violence, knife crime and all of the associated anti-social behaviour which causes concern for our communities."

Assistant Chief Constable Vicki Evans said: "As a force, we have moved on a huge amount in the past 12 months in terms of our response to tackling organised criminality, alongside working with partner agencies to prevent and disrupt those responsible for causing harm in our communities. Our pursuit of those involved in serious and organised crime has intensified, with our county’s biggest ever operation to tackle exploitation and illegal drugs – Operation Hypernova – in October, which resulted in 44 arrests and 31 people being charged with 139 drug and human trafficking offences. Thirty county lines were also dismantled.

"This enforcement work has continued this year with Operation Tsunami tackling organised crime, exploitation and drug dealing in Peterborough, which has also seen a significant impact on the drugs network in the city, taking out some key individuals and putting them before the courts. We hope this operation gives reassurance to our communities that if you give us information about people you think are dealing drugs or exploiting others, we will take it seriously and whilst you may not always see the results straight away, rest assured that we are always working in the background and at the right time we will strike and take that enforcement action."

References

1. ^{^} Peterborough (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Cambridgeshire (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)
3. ^{^} Man, 20, dies and 2 people suffer 'life-changing injuries' after Cambs crash (www.cambridge-news.co.uk)