Twelve arrests and heroin, £10,000 cash and cars seized in raids across Sunderland, Durham and Merseyside

Twelve people have been arrested as part of a crackdown on serious and organised crime which saw police carry out dawn raids in Sunderland and Durham, as well as in the North West.
Wraps of heroinWraps of heroin
Wraps of heroin

More than £10,000 cash, six luxury cars and £165,000 worth of heroin were just some of the items seized after coordinated strikes were carried out in Sunderland, Durham and on Merseyside after a lengthy operation.

Led by officers from the Force’s Priority and Organised Crime department, a total of 80 Northumbria and North East Regional Special Operations Unit officers were supported by 85 colleagues from Merseyside Police as a total of 15 addresses were hit - six in Sunderland, three in Durham and six in Merseyside.

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Detective Chief Superintendent Mick Paterson from Northumbria Police said: “I hope today’s activity sends a very clear message to those individuals who think who think they can get away with supplying these illicit substances.

A tub full of cash was seizedA tub full of cash was seized
A tub full of cash was seized

“As a force, we have a very clear priority to do everything we can to purse dangerous individuals and to tackle serious and organised crime.

“This was a huge operation which took a lot of planning and coordinating and I want to thank everyone involved for their hard work in helping to disrupt this large-scale operation.

“As part of Operation Sentinel, our dedicated approach to tackling serious and organised crime, we will continue to work with our partners and engage with communities and proactively target suspects in order to disrupt crime and protect the public.”

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As part of a long-running investigation into an organised criminal group suspected of supplying Class A drugs and money laundering, firearms ammunition, officers previously uncovered a cannabis farm at an address in Sunderland and arrested a male who they traced travelling from Liverpool to Sunderland with one kilo of heroin worth £55,000.

Some of the cash recoveredSome of the cash recovered
Some of the cash recovered

So far, cash totalling more than £25,000, Large quantities and wraps of Class A drugs have been seized as well as an estimated £50,000 haul of Cannabis.

Eleven men and one woman remain in police custody at this time.