Cheshire Constabulary sees highest rise in drug seizures across England and Wales

Cheshire Constabulary saw the highest increase in seizures of controlled drugs across England and Wales between March 2023 and March 2024.

Figures released on Thursday 16th January by the Home Office show that: 

A total of 3,282 drug seizures were made during this period. Of these, 704 were class A drugs, 2,521 were class B, and 74 were class C drugs. A further 113 seizures of unclassified drugs were made.

The increase follows the force’s robust approach in tackling Serious and Organised Crime and dismantling County Lines.

For example, Operation Heracles was an investigation into the supply of cannabis in Ellesmere Port and Chester between April 2023 and March 2024, with links to upstream suppliers in Manchester and Merseyside. Following a series of warrants, 3kg of cannabis with a street value of almost £98,000 was seized, and 16 men were jailed for more than 80 years.

The force also ran Operation Onion, a proactive investigation which is utilises the Drone Unit detecting heat sources to identify cannabis cultivation. In March 2024, the Northern Problem-Solving Team executed a warrant at a disused pub in Warrington town centre which resulted in the recovery of 720 cannabis plants.

With support from Project Servator and Polsa deployments, the Creamfields operation has also benefitted from the force’s proactive policing strategy and can account for a number of the drug seizures achieved.

The Constabulary’s Roads and Crime Unit have made a number of notable drug seizures as they comb through the county’s road network, working closely with our neighbouring forces to disrupt cross border criminality through shared intel, ANPR cameras, and eagle-eyed officers to ensure stop checks are conducted where appropriate. In May 2023, pre-emptive tactics were deployed to stop a car at Knutsford Motorway Services following intelligence that the vehicle had been transporting large quantities of drugs between Devon and Merseyside. Upon searching the vehicle, officers seized 1kg of heroin with a street value in excess of £40,000.

Another significant seizure was a result of an investigation in January 2024 that uncovered millions of pounds worth of cannabis which had been hidden inside mattresses. Three men were sentenced to over 17 years in prison following the conclusion of the case. The force seized eight mattresses in Widnes that had been shipped from Canada and contained 334kg of cannabis.

The statistics show Cheshire Constabulary has seen an increase of 160 per cent in drug seizures compared to the previous year – the force’s largest recorded number of seizures since 2006.

Chief Superintendent Alison Ross said: 

“These results demonstrate our approach in proactively pursuing those who attempt to traffic drugs into our county and disrupting those involved in serious and organised crime.

“Our priorities will always lie with protecting our communities within Cheshire from the devastation caused by illegal drugs and those complicit in their sale and distribution, and we continue to tailor our approach to ensure that our county remains a safe place to live and visit.

“We know that organised criminals grow ever more sophisticated in their attempts to establish and operate drug supply lines, but it is our role as a force to always stay one step ahead, and as we can see from these statistics, we are succeeding at an impressive rate.

“We also know that our county is often targeted because we are situated between two major metropolitan areas and our road network plays a significant role in connecting much of the North West region.

“This is why we have intensified our efforts in combatting the illegal drug fraternity and intercepting their supply chains, and we will continue to do so until these criminals realise that if they come to Cheshire they will be caught, their drugs will be seized, and they will be put behind bars for a very long time.”