Drug king pins sentenced to 2,080 YEARS behind bars

More than £28m has been seized from criminals in the region over the past 12 months
The region's major criminals have been been hit with long jail sentencesThe region's major criminals have been been hit with long jail sentences
The region's major criminals have been been hit with long jail sentences

The North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU) are behind made more than 544 arrests and seized over 4,500 kilograms of drugs during the year.

The NWROCU is responsible for tackling serious and organised crime across the North West region, managing the threat posed from crime types such as firearms supply, county drugs lines, child sexual exploitation, cybercrime and modern day slavery.

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In 2018/19, NWROCU officers, (ROCU), working with North West Police Forces and partners, arrested more than 544 people, secured jail sentences of over 2,080 years, recovered 45 firearms, and seized over 560 kilograms of Class A drugs and just under 4,000 kilograms of Class B drugs. Of the major criminals arrested 30 came from Lancashire.

Officers use a range of specialist tactics and work closely alongside police forces and partner agencies to disrupt dangerous offenders operating across Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and North Wales.

Emily Higham, Head of the Regional Organised Crime Unit, said: “It’s been a really successful year for the North West ROCU in our fight against serious and organised crime across the region.

“We’re here to help take down the most serious, hardened and organised criminals who pose the more serious threat to our communities. Thanks to the hard work of our officers, officers within the North West police forces and our partner agencies, a large number of prolific criminals will be spending time behind bars and we’ve taken a significant quantities of drugs and illegal firearms off the streets.

“We’re looking forward to continuing our mission to protect the communities within the North West from serious and organised crime in 2019.”