Operation Voltage sees 3,000 wraps of Class A drugs, 31 weapons and £55,000 in cash seized and 78 arrests made as Kettering drugs crackdown continues

You might not have heard of Operation Voltage, but police are delighted with the impact it is having in Kettering.

The following figures show the results of the crackdown so far which was launched in response to County Lines and drugs harm in the town.

- More than 3,000 wraps of Class A drugs seized

- 21 drugs lines disrupted

- 78 arrests made

- More than £55,000 in cash recovered

- 250 drug-users offered help

- 31 weapons seized

- 49 people safeguarded

Operation Voltage is Northamptonshire Police’s response to County Lines and drugs harm.

Police say it has secured some fantastic results since it launched earlier this year, with multiple offenders arrested, charged and remanded.

Led by the force’s Proactive Crime and Intelligence Team, the operation aims to tackle County Lines and their associated criminality by having a dedicated investigation team which focuses on charging and remanding as many offenders as possible.

The team also recognise that enforcement is not the only avenue they can go down to tackle the issues and also work to safeguard as many people as possible including vulnerable drug-users and young people who are being exploited by drug dealers.

In the short time the operation has been running in Kettering, the team have secured a number of good results including the safeguarding of 49 people, the arrest of 78 offenders and the seizure of cash, Class A drugs and weapons.

Detective Superintendent Lee McBride, who leads Op Voltage, said: “Tackling County Lines and the harm they cause is a matter of priority for Northamptonshire Police and I hope these results demonstrate that determination and relentless commitment.

“We all know how interwoven drugs are with many of the serious crimes that have taken place across our county and how drugs harm crosses all of our other matters of priority – SOC, VAWG and serious violence.

“This operation is all about taking the fight back to those who seek to inflict misery on our communities.

"It also works to safeguard the vulnerable people they are exploiting to sell their drugs, something which is really important to us and demonstrated by the help we’ve offered so far to over 250 drug-users.

“I want to be clear that Op Voltage will continue working hard to achieve more good results – putting more people behind bars and protecting the most vulnerable in our society.

“Finally I’d like to thank our partners at North Northamptonshire Council for their support around the securing of closure orders at addresses used for drugs supply, and also Change Grow Live – a charity that continue to provide support and help to drugs users in the Kettering area.”