A 53-year-old man remains under investigation after drugs and weapons – including a sword and a baton – were seized from his home address in Sandown last week.
As part of a targeted National policing operation, on Friday 13th October shortly before 15:00, officers stopped a vehicle of interest at the Wightlink ferry terminal in Fishbourne.
A search was conducted under Section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 and a quantity of cannabis was seized. A search of a Sandown address linked to the occupant of the vehicle was subsequently carried out under Section 18 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. Suspected Class A drugs, a sword and a baton were seized.
The man, a 53-year-old from Sandown, was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class B, possession of a controlled drug of Class A, possession of an offensive weapon in a private place and drug driving.
He has been released from police custody but remains under investigation while our enquiries continue.
The stop came as part of a larger regional scale operation into tackling drug related violence and harm across the South Coast.
Elsewhere across the region, Police officers across Hampshire and Isle of Wight arrested 87 criminals and seized £106,000 of drugs and more than 50 offensive weapons as part of a national county line week of intensification.
Several large-scale busts were also made in Gosport, Andover, Southampton, Portsmouth and Basingstoke.
The Force-wide policing activity across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight resulted in:
- 87 people arrested
- 15 county lines identified and disrupted
- 13 drug warrants executed
- 159 mobile phones seized
- £106,000 drugs seized
- Over £51K cash seized
- 200+ stop and searches, 15% of which involved a person aged Under 18.
Tactical County Lines lead for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary, Chief Inspector Marcus Kennedy, said:
“County line gangs run despicable, exploitative criminal operations manipulating the most vulnerable to do their dirty work, tearing families and communities apart in the process.
“This intense week of operational and partnership activity has been incredibly successful in disrupting and shutting down county line networks running in our towns and cities.
“We’ve been relentless in the co-ordination of our policing activity targeting these vile criminals who bring misery and violence to our communities. We have executed 13 warrants, made 87 arrests and visited 62 cuckooed addresses in the past week, all related to drug-related harm. Seizing large quantities of drugs, cash and proceeds of their criminality including over fifty thousand in cash.
“County lines exploit children and vulnerable people and safeguarding has been at the heart of our response, with 58 vulnerable people including two children aged under 18, being referred to support services via the National Referral Mechanism. Officers also provided engagement within schools and work with partners such as the Children’s Society on the #LookCloser exploitation campaign.”
“It’s a criminal business model, evidenced by the variety and amount of drug types seized this week, but they are equally strongly associated with serious violence.
“We cannot and will not stop wiping them out with our relentless pursuit in ridding these violent criminals from our streets, and reducing the fear and violence they bring with to other associated crime in our neighbours.
“We are dedicated to bringing those responsible for violence and exploitation to justice and will use all avenues available to us, including increased use of Modern Slavery legislation to target line holders.”
James Simmonds-Read, National Programme Manager at The Children’s Society, said:
“Criminals groom young people in person or online and use terrifying threats and violence to force them into crimes such as carrying drugs and fraud or exploiting them sexually.
“This Awareness Week we want to highlight how exploitation can happen to any young person, anywhere, and as the nights draw in, we especially urge people to spot the signs of exploitation in public places after dark.
“Young people can be targeted at fast food outlets, forced to travel on trains and in taxis late at night, and are abused behind closed doors, in hotels and holiday lets.
“Whether you are on a night out, commuting home, staying overnight for a business trip, or working as a driver or in customer service, you could be the one that gets help.
“Call the police on 101 or 999 if there is an immediate risk. If on a train text British Transport Police on 61016. Alternatively, you can contact the NSPCC for advice on 0808 800 5000.
I can remember the days when the Island was a safe healthly place
only yesterday afternoon in broad daylight a man was rolling up a
joint in Lidl car park in Shanklin, he then lit it and walked off smoking it,
It stunk and is so Anti-Social
Bring back the Bobbies on the beat and when they come across such
individuals – discipline them.
Drugs are NO good for anyone.
Cannabis is a medicine,FACT!!!
It also turns people’s minds to mush
you are totally clueless bird brain
I agree with your point re: medicine, or at least the medicinal benefits. Throwing around insults aimed at those that disagree with you undermines your argument and encourages the , overly prevalent, knee jerk contingent.
It doesn’t cure anything, it’s not a medicine, it just numbs pain/symptoms, and it’s easy not to feel pain when your brains mush.
Yes, you can use Cannabis for medicinal purposes Peter, but the THC content MUST BE REMOVED. Do your homework. Rolling a joint is illegal. Imagine if they legalised Cannabis, we have enough drugged up idiots crashing their cars now and it’s illegal. This stuff is no good if smoked to get high.
So why can you get medical cannabis with THC on prescription in the uk?
Medical Cannabis DOES NOT contain THC. This is removed. Do your research. THC is what gets people high. GPs would not prescribe medical cannabis if it made patients high and it is not legal. I take CBD oil as it is very good for pain. It does not contain THC.
Medical cannabis became legal in the UK on November 1, 2018. This followed a change in the law by the UK government, allowing specialist doctors to prescribe cannabis-based medicines covering THC, CBD and balanced cannabis profiles. Doctors are able to prescribe cannabis flower, oil, capsules and cartridges to support a number of conditions.
And sadly those medically proven to benefit from said law change are still unable to receive it via prescription.
The chap smoking it did not like he was using it for medical reasons
He was a pure druggie.
It is a fact. Those who have no knowledge or need of it’s amazing abilities to stop some symptoms in their tracks are simply ignorant. Legalising cannabis is coming, probably in 2024 or certainly by 2025.
Strychnine was also used as an oral medicine.
FACT !!!!
Hardly harmless.
The psychotropic effects of cannabis are harmful. FACT. !!!
The Island has always had a massive problem with drugs and the criminals that underpin it.
And before anyone says otherwise, I can assure you that those criminals are locals
Good work by all involved in getting these results. Sadly, drugs are so prevalent in today’s society, it’s like putting a stocking plaster on a major wound! The authorities in the countries where these drugs are manufactured or grown need to do more to find the people at the top, the scum who are in charge and take them out of action before this rubbish is distributed around the world
I think they should focus more on the heroine problem and crack
And alcohol. Any substance that’s abused is a problem
out of the list above how many on the island ?
Smoking those harmful drugs eventually leads to a horrendous disease called Pulmonary Obstructive Disease now if that’s what you want crack on, I don’t want to be struggling for breath slowly drowning do you ?
We were in Sandown yesterday afternoon and the prom was a-throng with holidaymakers with their children and, one assumes, local people. A number oi the shelters were occupied by some really weird-looking characters, and their state of amusement/bemusement and the familiar smell showed that there was lots of ganga-blowing going on. In such a pleasant setting it seemed really sad.