Police in Moray have delivered major blows in the war on drugs across the region.
Last year officers seized more than £120,000 of illegal substances during dozens of raids on homes.
Cash confiscated from dealers quadrupled from 2015 as 29 people were reported for supplying drugs that have blighted north-east communities.
Three serious organised crime gangs have been “significantly disrupted” by specialist officers while numerous others have been broken up in smaller hits.
And one of the ring-leaders of a gang supplying the north of Scotland from Liverpool has been jailed after being caught with 5.5kg of cocaine.
Yesterday Moray MSP Richard Lochhead hailed the work done by officers as dealing a “significant blow” to dealers.
He said: “The use of illegal substances continues to affect Moray like many other communities and this is a reminder that drug crime is not just a big city issue.
“Police deserve a lot of credit for what is clearly a significant blow last year against drug crime and the gangs that have been targeting our communities and wrecking lives. It’s also good news the proceeds are being seized.
“I have no doubt that a lot of intelligence work was carried out over a period of time given that so many people were arrested and the ring leaders from south of the border were caught.”
Officers will present a report from last year’s operations at a meeting of Moray Council’s police and fire and rescue services committee later this week.
Figures prepared for the briefing reveal £123,360 worth of drugs were taken off the streets during 68 raids.
Officers secretly built intelligence before breaking down doors at multiple homes simultaneously in coordinated operations to catch culprits.
Cannabis was the cause for most offences last year ahead of cocaine, heroin and diazepam.
Cash seized from dealers across Moray and Aberdeenshire quadrupled from about £19,000 in 2015 to nearly £79,000 last year.
In a report for Thursday’s meeting Detective Inspector Stuart McAdam said his team was working to make Moray as
“hostile” for dealers as possible.
He said: “From recent trends it appears that Inverness and Elgin are intrinsically linked to English-based dealers supplying controlled drugs.
“In 2016, approximately 5.5kg of heroin was recovered during an operation that saw the principal of the OCG (organised crime group) imprisoned for 10 years. This group, from Liverpool, were operating between Inverness and Elgin.”
