Large amounts of drugs, cash and weapons seized in Cardiff dealer clampdown
Hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of drugs, cash and weapons have been seized by a police operation in the last few months.
Officers working on Operation Crater have arrested 100 suspected drug dealers and seized more than £152,000 worth of drugs as well as more than £81,000 in cash and a number of weapons.
It comes as south Wales is facing a huge county lines drug problem alongside knife crime that has left communities "too frightened to go out".
Operation Sceptre: police forces join national campaign to crack down on knife crime
Knife crime increases across Wales by almost 20% as police warn offenders are getting younger
Operation Crater was launched by South Wales Police in April to tackle drug supply in Cardiff.
Of the 100 arrested, 16 have so far been charged and brought before courts with prison sentences totalling more than 51 years. More than 80 others are awaiting court proceedings.
Detective superintendent Esyr Jones said: “Op Crater has made significant progress in disrupting Class A drug supply and the associated violence which accompanies this form of criminality; criminality which causes misery and heartache to communities throughout Cardiff."
“Since Op Crater launched in April we have seen large amounts of drugs and weapons removed from our streets and some significant sentences handed down by the courts. Many more are awaiting court proceedings."
“These drug dealers – the majority of whom are from the very areas in which they peddle their goods – prey on the vulnerability of drug users purely for quick financial gain. They have a complete disregard for the consequences of their criminality and we will not stand by while our communities continue to suffer."
“While the Op Crater team has proved extremely successful so far, as has Operation Sceptre , we will not rest on our laurels and we will continue with this robust approach to remove them from our streets."
“As always we would urge our communities to support us as we continue relentlessly to achieve this aim. We can, and regularly do, act upon the information provided to us by the public so please keep it coming.”
Police said "with drug supply so intrinsically linked to violence and knife crime" the Operation Crater team is part of Operation Sceptre, the national move to a tackle knife crime across the UK."