Over £500,000 and £730,000-worth of drugs have been seized by police in the first six weeks of 2023 as the force cracks down on organised crime.
Cumbria police is running Operation Alliance to combat serious crime and several of its departments are working under that banner to keep the county’s streets safe.
Drugs seized included cocaine, cannabis and heroin.
Detective Inspector Duncan Brooker said: “Our officers work all-year-round to protect Cumbria against serious and organised crime.
“These figures are just a snapshot of the activity undertaken since the new year, with a significant amount of drugs taken off the streets and cash seized.
“Enquiries continue so we are not able to be more specific at this stage. But the public can be assured this is what our officers do day-in, day-out to tackle and deter crime and keep people safe.”
Cumbria’s police and crime commissioner, Peter McCall, said: “Cumbria Constabulary are absolutely committed to keeping drugs off our streets and putting those who are supplying and selling these illegal substances behind bars.
“This is a superb illustration of the effect officers achieve continually to disrupt the drug trade and bring those who deal in it to justice. Drug dealers should be under no illusion that Cumbria police will deal robustly with anyone dealing or carrying drugs, and they have my complete support in doing so, I am confident that the vast majority of the public agree.
“We can all help in the effort to minimise the effect of drugs in our county by giving information to the police if we have it.”
Last year, officers took drugs worth more than £4 million off the streets and said they had ‘hit the ground running’ in 2023.
