A month ago I appealed in this blog, on TV and in newspapers for our communities to help report signs of suspicious drug dealing.

I know our force loves community intelligence – it is the lifeblood of operations which put dangerous people behind bars and maintain Devon and Cornwall as having the lowest recorded crime rate in the country – a position which the Office of National Statistics confirmed on Thursday.

It was community intelligence which led to a huge haul of cannabis being discovered in my home town of Torquay earlier this year. And it was community intelligence which helped officers leading Operation Scorpion catch a number of suspected drug dealers during the national week of county lines intensification this month.

County lines drug dealing is a particularly nasty and exploitative subset of a nasty and exploitative industry. It is where vulnerable people, often children, are used to courier and deal hard drugs, servicing phone ‘lines’ which users contact. Frequently dealers will move into the homes of adults with learning difficulties and use these premises as drugs distribution centres.

Information given to Crimestoppers - the charity which allows you to report crime anonymously - and Devon and Cornwall Police, enabled the force to make 36 arrests, seize drugs worth more than £90,000, cash worth £54,800 and 14 weapons in just seven days.

Importantly six adults and 10 children were safeguarded during the operation in Devon and Cornwall. Those children face brighter and safer futures thanks to this operation.

Because Operation Scorpion is a regional initiative, initiated by five Police and Crime Commissioners and supported by their Chief Constables, across the South West there was a substantial amount of activity.

The drugs which have been prevented from hitting our streets in one week alone included cocaine and heroin worth more than £183,000 and cannabis valued at £155,000.

If you needed proof that the people involved in this trade were capable of deeply unpleasant crimes look no further than the haul of weapons taken in the week. Including a samurai sword and a crossbow.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the police officers and staff who assisted with this operation, from the painstaking planning of our activity through to the coordination with key partner agencies. 

But mostly I would like to thank the community-minded members of the public for your continued support of an initiative which continues to safeguard the most vulnerable in our cities, towns and villages.

My message to drug dealers and those who seek to exploit children for their own gain is that this is not over – with public support we will be relentless in your pursuit.