Police have smashed nearly a dozen organised crime gangs and seized more than £1million of drugs from the north-east’s streets.
Drug squad officers have “significantly disrupted” 11 gangs operating in the area since the beginning of the year.
Cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis, with a potential street value of £944,960, has also been recovered.
Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson, the divisional commander for north-east, has revealed the figures in a report which will be discussed by councillors in Aberdeen next week.
The document also reveals 200 arrests have been made as part of the force’s ongoing crackdown on gangland criminals since April last year.
Officers also reclaimed more than £150,000 of cash which has been linked to criminal gangs.
Last night, local politicians welcomed the figures but said they served as a stark reminder of the power of the illicit drugs trade.
North East MSP Ross Thomson said: “This is really good news that Police Scotland managed to thwart these groups that are operating in the shadows and brought them to book.
“These substances would have been devastating and caused an untold amount of damage to people and would have heaped even more pressure on the NHS.
“While it’s good news that they have seized such a heavy haul, it’s also terrifying to think that it was making its way into the north-east streets.
“It’s a stark reminder of what we are continuing to fight against.”
Earlier this month, 20 people were convicted for their part in a UK-wide conspiracy to supply £19million worth of cocaine.
North-east cops made several arrests, after raiding a house in the city that was being used to supply the cocaine.
The men and women involved were handed down sentences varying from 18 months to 14 years at Swansea Crown Court.
Lewis Macdonald MSP said the drugs trade would continue to be a challenge for police and the courts in the future.
He added: “These figures show both that the operation to crack organised crime is going well but also show the scale of the problem in the north-east.
“The fact that there’s so many gangs that can make a living selling these substances shows there remains a huge demand and the sale of illegal drugs continues to be a problem both for the police and the social services who will have to pick up the pieces afterwards.
“Clearly the age of drug-related crime is not behind us and remains a challenge for the future.”
Gangs are graded based on their risk of threat and harm through a process known as mapping.
In just nine months, there have been 263 drug searches carried out across the region.
In his report, Ch Supt Thomson states: “Over the last 12 months, North East division, specialist crime division and their partners have significantly disrupted the activities of 11 SOCGs (serious organised crime groups) within the division which had been assessed under the mapping process.
“Numerous other smaller groups have been disrupted by conventional policing under Operation Aspen. Almost all of these groups have had links to Aberdeen city.”
His report will be discussed by the authority’s communities, housing, infrastructure committee next Tuesday.
