Thirty-Five People Arrested
Thirty-five people have been arrested and £400,000 worth of drugs have been seized as part of Operation Momentum – an ongoing crackdown on organised crime in Leeds.
A multi-agency day of action was held yesterday, involving officers from West Yorkshire Police’s neighbourhood policing teams and operational support, alongside officers from the North East Regional Specialist Operations Team, Safer Leeds, Trading Standards and HMRC.
Fourteen people were arrested yesterday and £60,000 worth of class A drugs were seized, as officers searched 12 addresses across the district.
A large cannabis farm of around 500 plants – estimated to be worth around £320,000 – was also found at a property in Harehills.
Yesterday’s successes follow a day of action held on 21 May, which saw 21 people arrested, crack cocaine with a street value of £10k and cocaine with a street value of £3k seized, as well as weapons including an axe, knives and a taser recovered. Detective Superintendent Jaz Khan, head of crime at Leeds District, said:
“Operation Momentum continues to tackle crimes such as drug dealing, firearms offences and criminal exploitation, and yesterday’s operation highlights the dedication from our officers and partner agencies in tackling organised crime.
“We seized a substantial amount of drugs yesterday, which is a positive result for our communities. Drug dealing causes misery to local people and we will continue to target those suspected of being involved in the production and dealing of drugs.
“Although we aren’t able to carry out raids such as these every day, our team is constantly working behind the scenes to disrupt criminal activity – we are making Leeds an uncomfortable place for those involved in crime.
“Operations such as this are only possible through the cooperation of our communities. It is vital the public continue to pass on any information they have on criminality so we can continue to bring criminals to justice and make our communities safer places to live and work.”
Detective Sergeant Shaun Fordy from the North East Regional Specialist Operations Unit (NERSOU) said:
“People’s lives can be devastated from drug use but this is of little concern to the gangs involved in their production and supply.
“They are only concerned with financial gain, not with the lives of the vulnerable people they exploit to keep their criminal activities afloat, or the communities who suffer as a result of this.
“As part of NERSOU’s Operation Sentinel, which is our dedicated and ongoing initiative to tackle serious and organised crime, we will continue to work in across the country to help bring offenders to justice.”
*A man has been charged following the operation and is due to appear in court tomorrow.
Operation Momentum is part of Programme Precision – a crackdown on serious and organised crime by West Yorkshire Police, local partners and the public; working together to tackle serious and organised crime in the county.
If anyone suspects someone in their community is involved in crime, please contact West Yorkshire Police on 101 or by using the https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/contact-us.
Information can also be passed anonymously to independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.