Lancashire Police have this week executed 12 warrants and made 9 arrests during a series of raids in Blackpool, reaffirming their commitment to fighting serious and organised crime.
The action was taken as part of Operation Warrior, a force wide operation delivering on Lancashire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden’s Fighting Crime Plan priority of disrupting and dismantling organised crime.
The operation is dedicated to bringing more offenders to justice as well as stripping them of their cash, cars, and other assets.
Operation Warrior targets both individuals and gangs involved in crime, as well as associated issues such as violence and intimidation, large scale drug supply, exploitation and fraud, all of which can cause serious harm to local communities.
Overseeing the latest operation this week, Assistant Chief Constable Ian Dawson said: “Like elsewhere in the country, serious and organised crime presents a very real threat across our communities. It takes many forms including drug trafficking, human trafficking, illegal immigration, fraud and financial crime, counterfeiting, organised acquisitive crime, cybercrime, and exploitation.
“We do a great deal of work to tackle the problem. Every week we arrest an average of 17 people for organised crime and each month we seize over £55,000 of cash along with significant quantities of drugs.
“Our dedicated teams of detectives are working extremely hard alongside partner agencies like local authorities, HMRC, Immigration Services and others, to ensure we use every tactic at our disposal to hunt down offenders, first taking their freedom, then all of their assets.
“This week’s action serves to reaffirm our commitment to fighting organised crime and making Lancashire an even safer place to live, work and visit.”
He appealed for the public’s support, saying: “Nobody knows their local communities better than the people who live here. I am appealing for the public to help us put these offenders where they belong – behind bars.
“If people have suspicions, we want to hear from them. It might be concerns about a business, unusual activity around a premises or perhaps an individual flashing cash with no obvious means of earning it. Even the tiniest bit of information might be the final piece of evidence we need to take action.”
Also watching the action was Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner, Andrew Snowden.
He said: “Organised crime gangs are a blight on society as they try to bring fear, violence, drugs and exploitation into our communities.
“This is why I have made disrupting and dismantling organised crime a key priority in my Police and Crime Plan.
“It’s fantastic to see the Constabulary deliver on this priority through Op Warrior and the continued results in terms of arrests, asset seizures and drugs taken off our streets speak for themselves.
“These successes send a clear message to organised crime gangs and show that we are out to target and arrest offenders whilst assuring local communities that we are tackling organised crime at full force.
“Any community intelligence is vital in our fight against organised crime and I would encourage Lancashire residents to report suspicious activity or any information that might help us in tackling crime gangs.”
Anyone with any information on organised crime can contact local police or independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously and information leading to an arrest could lead to a reward of up to £1,000.
