LAST year, Cumbria Police seized drugs worth an estimated street value of around £4m and a further suspected illegally-held cash worth £1.5m.
Drugs criminals, online offenders and those exploiting the vulnerable were among those caught and jailed after departments across the constabulary worked to keep the streets safe and deter and solve crime.
Officers also joined forces with other law enforcement and partner agencies dealing with the world of serious and organised crime throughout the year - through Operation Alliance.
In just the last few weeks, the latest results of these types of investigations saw two separate major drugs seizures made, including the seizure of cannabis with a street value of £890,000 after stopping a van on the M6.
Detective Superintendent Ian Hussey said Operation Alliance has been showing a 'real success' so far.
"It's working with our partners across the county and beyond to target criminality. We target those traditional types of organised crime, we've had some considerable success over the last 12 months, recovering around £4m of drugs and seized about £1.5m of cash, proceeds of that criminality," he said.
The buck doesn't stop at catching drug dealers and traffickers however, Cumbria Police have put a growing precedent on the public's safety by stopping and catching cyber criminals.
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"We've had a 40 per cent increase in our success rate in arrests and warrants from 2020. We've executed 28 warrants, arrested 38 people and as importantly, safeguarded 108 children from online criminality," Det Supt Hussey said.
The economic crime unit have also been targeting proceeds from gangs that may not be seen on the street, leading to about £550,000 returned to Cumbrian victims of crime.
Cumbria Constabulary’s cyber and digital crime unit continues to protect the public and catch criminals operating online.
Funded by Cumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Peter McCall, it began operating in spring 2019, with investment made in additional specialist services at the constabulary to deter digital criminals and help the victims they target.
Det Supt Hussey would like to remind the community that the success they have seen is nothing without the community's help.
"If people get in touch with us, if people tell us of criminality, we will act. To keep moving forward, I would really implore, by whatever means, people get in touch with us to let us help keep communities safe.
"The eyes and ears of the community are those who see it everyday, who see how these criminals exploit, any decent minded person would want these people targeted.
"We will act, but we do need people to come forward, whether it be through the police, Crimestoppers, anywhere in the community that can pass on a message, we really don't mind how we get the information, but if we do get it, I can assure the public that we will do everything to bring that intelligence and act on it to lock these people up," he said.
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