Organised Crime Squeeze in South West

More than 100 people have now been arrested by Zephyr - the regional serious and organised crime fighting force.

Over the past 15 months Zephyr, which is made up of 70 hand-picked officers from Devon and Cornwall and four other south west police forces has hit organised and serious crime.

Seventy of those arrested have been charged and are going through the court process. The others remain on bail pending further enquiries.

The offences range from conspiracy to supply Class A dugs and money laundering to distraction burglary and firearms offences.

Officers have seized more than 20kgs of Class A drugs, 10kgs of Class B drugs and more than 50kgs of cutting agents commonly used by drug dealers to dilute substances and increase profits.

Weapons, fraudulent documentation and £220,000 in cash has also been recovered.

The team works closely the Borders Agency (UKBA), Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) and Trading Standards.

Zephyr also has a financial investigation team which seeks to strip criminals of their assets and the money used to fund their luxury lifestyles and so far officers have confiscated £3.5million and have £4.4million under restraint. There are 27 confiscation investigations currently ongoing.

Head of Zephyr Superintendent Nigel Rock wants communities across the region to feel confident about coming forward to help identify crime networks. You can report information to your local police team by calling 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
For more information on Zephyr visit www.zephyrsouthwest.com