Raids result in 40 drugs arrests

12:10pm Monday 23rd April 2012 in Cherwell By Sam McGregor, covering Bicester. Call me on 01869 250197

Sgt Matt Powell Sgt Matt Powell

Thousands of pounds of drugs have been taken off the streets of north Oxfordshire in a series of police raids.

A five-strong team of officers, lead by Sgt Matt Powell, has been waging war on criminals in Kidlington, Bicester and Banbury since January.

Operation Dragnet has seen more than 40 people arrested in connection with drugs, burglary and assault, in 12 raids.

As a result, 11 cannabis factories, eight in Banbury and three in Bicester, have been discovered, with 600 cannabis plants seized and destroyed in the past three months.

Four people have been charged with possession with intent to supply and attempted production of a class B drug.

One person is still on bail and four others were cautioned.

Drugs, including magic mushrooms, cocaine, heroin, cannabis and amphetamine tablets, with a combined street value of about £10,000, have been seized, along with about £4,000 in cash.

Sgt Powell issued a warning to anyone connected with crime that his team were on their tails, and urged the public to contact police about suspicious behaviour.

He said: “The Dragnet team has the flexibility to either go on the hunt for criminality, disrupting and detecting it proactively, or to respond to any emerging issues and intelligence as it is reported by the public.

“We want to encourage the communities of Cherwell to call in with any information about criminality in their neighbourhood, no matter how insignificant they think it is.

“Anyone involved in criminality, or even just on the fringes of it, needs to know that, with the public’s help, they will appear on our radar.

“We will then make it our business to disrupt their criminal activity and ensure that they feel the full weight of the law.”

The team also has a ‘top 10’ list of known criminals who may receive a visit from officers at any time of the day or night to check on them.

Supt Andy Boyd said: “The results this team has achieved since it began operating speak for themselves.

“Law-abiding people can rest assured that the Dragnet team have put us firmly on the front foot, confronting those who chose to live a life of criminality.

“The message is simple: if you chose to commit crime, you can expect to face disruption to your daily routine and regular trips to the police station.”

Comments (5)

1:33pm Mon 23 Apr 12

judyta_a says...

Wow, what brave, brave men they must be - they removed a substance from the streets that it less hermful than alcohol. Bravo, I'm so happy to see that we are properly protected from ourselves!
Wow, what brave, brave men they must be - they removed a substance from the streets that it less hermful than alcohol. Bravo, I'm so happy to see that we are properly protected from ourselves! judyta_a

2:02pm Mon 23 Apr 12

cshaws says...

What on earth is going on? Why are the police wasting their time and our taxes? The government has legalised production, processing and selling of cannabis ( at huge profit). They have also invested a considerable amount of taxpayer's money in this enterprise.  GW Pharmaceuticals grow 30 tons of high grade, high potency cannabis at a 'secret' location in the south of England every year with impunity.  They extract ALL the active ingredients, bottle and flavour the end product and sell it as Sativex.  It is cannabis in a bottle.  It is a medicine certified as 'safe and effective' by the government.  However, if you or I carry out exactly the same process, cannabis, according to the government, is a dangerous drug scheduled as 'not considered legitimate for medical use'  This utter hypocrisy underlies the governments war on some users of some drugs. The law is designed to protect big pharma profits and their shareholders dividends.  Time to end the lies and bring the huge damage this 'war' is causing to an end.

"The results this team has achieved since it began operating speak for themselves." - what results? - closing these gardens won't have made the slightest difference.
What on earth is going on? Why are the police wasting their time and our taxes? The government has legalised production, processing and selling of cannabis ( at huge profit). They have also invested a considerable amount of taxpayer's money in this enterprise.  GW Pharmaceuticals grow 30 tons of high grade, high potency cannabis at a 'secret' location in the south of England every year with impunity.  They extract ALL the active ingredients, bottle and flavour the end product and sell it as Sativex.  It is cannabis in a bottle.  It is a medicine certified as 'safe and effective' by the government.  However, if you or I carry out exactly the same process, cannabis, according to the government, is a dangerous drug scheduled as 'not considered legitimate for medical use'  This utter hypocrisy underlies the governments war on some users of some drugs. The law is designed to protect big pharma profits and their shareholders dividends.  Time to end the lies and bring the huge damage this 'war' is causing to an end. "The results this team has achieved since it began operating speak for themselves." - what results? - closing these gardens won't have made the slightest difference. cshaws

3:53pm Mon 23 Apr 12

grasmith says...

sgt powell says that he and four other officers have since january seized £14000 in drugs and money and issued four cautions....if these "joint" efforts are to be fully understood by the public then these paltry results need to be better justified....an enterprising teenager on a bike could make more money dealing on a busy weekend in cowley road and many do....it just seems a waste of precious resources from a force which claims to be squeezed for cash....Decriminalis
e Regulate and Tax the cannabis market and find something better to do for sgt powell and his dragnet team...if he just kept them in the station he would save the taxpayer petrol money and court costs...sentences for cultivating cannabis are dropping ....mayoral candidates in london are calling for the police to stop chasing cannabis and get on with more serious work... Join Clear cannabis law reform ..a political party that promises an end to this madness
sgt powell says that he and four other officers have since january seized £14000 in drugs and money and issued four cautions....if these "joint" efforts are to be fully understood by the public then these paltry results need to be better justified....an enterprising teenager on a bike could make more money dealing on a busy weekend in cowley road and many do....it just seems a waste of precious resources from a force which claims to be squeezed for cash....Decriminalis e Regulate and Tax the cannabis market and find something better to do for sgt powell and his dragnet team...if he just kept them in the station he would save the taxpayer petrol money and court costs...sentences for cultivating cannabis are dropping ....mayoral candidates in london are calling for the police to stop chasing cannabis and get on with more serious work... Join Clear cannabis law reform ..a political party that promises an end to this madness grasmith

5:01pm Mon 23 Apr 12

Rookwood says...

Does anybody else find it bizarre that these stories always report the supposed street value of drugs rather than discussing harm? Perhaps that's because the police know the truth which is that in the case of Cannabis (and magic mushrooms) there is no harm at all. The £ value is nothing more than a weak justification for a drug policy that has patently failed in any of it's supposed aims.

The failure of the government to legalise the use of some substances (i.e. those that are much safer than the legal drugs the government peddle) or even be prepared to have the debate, just forces the most vulnerable in our society to become part of the criminal drug subculture. Instead, we could legalise, tax and regulate. That we could do this at a much lower cost than the street dealer would put them out of business overnight. It's just madness. We could be world leaders in this but we choose to adhere to a US policy created by the racism and business interests of the 1930's.
Does anybody else find it bizarre that these stories always report the supposed street value of drugs rather than discussing harm? Perhaps that's because the police know the truth which is that in the case of Cannabis (and magic mushrooms) there is no harm at all. The £ value is nothing more than a weak justification for a drug policy that has patently failed in any of it's supposed aims. The failure of the government to legalise the use of some substances (i.e. those that are much safer than the legal drugs the government peddle) or even be prepared to have the debate, just forces the most vulnerable in our society to become part of the criminal drug subculture. Instead, we could legalise, tax and regulate. That we could do this at a much lower cost than the street dealer would put them out of business overnight. It's just madness. We could be world leaders in this but we choose to adhere to a US policy created by the racism and business interests of the 1930's. Rookwood

8:34pm Mon 23 Apr 12

SChorley says...

Our laws of prohibition are causing more and more Al Capone style criminals. When will the law put you in prison for not brushing your teeth, far more dangerous?
As the Lib/Dems say "The police are wasted on cannabis". Worse it cause mistrust of authorities like the Police. We must now talk of "nuisance\problem and non-nuisance\problem drug and alcohol use" and work with the people.
Our laws of prohibition are causing more and more Al Capone style criminals. When will the law put you in prison for not brushing your teeth, far more dangerous? As the Lib/Dems say "The police are wasted on cannabis". Worse it cause mistrust of authorities like the Police. We must now talk of "nuisance\problem and non-nuisance\problem drug and alcohol use" and work with the people. SChorley

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