More than 200 people were stopped and searched and 28 arrests were made in the past week, as extra police took to the streets of West Croydon as part of Operation Cleveland, in the aftermath of the spate of knife attacks across south London and the murder in Selhurst last weekend.
One of the ‘nasty adapted weapons’ recovered during Operation Cleveland
The police say that “The operation targeted drug-related offences and the violence it so often causes on our streets in West Croydon.”
After 215 stops and searches in the operation, nine weapons were recovered and what the police describe as “countless quantities of drugs”.
In an update on the first week of Operation Cleveland, the police said that officers had conducted 174 weapons sweeps in West Croydon, mainly knives, but including what they described as “a nasty adapted weapon”.
“Intelligence from the public and residents has seen us be able to execute three warrants this week all with successful arrests being made and a number of firearms being taken out of circulation to be destroyed,” the police said.
“It does not end here. We continue to work over the weekend providing this robust, no-nonsense approach to tackling these issues which are affecting our residents.”
Officers in Operation Cleveland conducting a sweep search
The police say that if you have any information regarding drug-related crime taking place in West Croydon, “Intelligence gathered here will lead to action being taken as we continue to build our resources in tackling these crimes.”
All emails to Russell.Easterbrook3@met.police.uk will be treated in confidence, the police say.
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