Around £4,000 worth of class A drugs and £2,000 of cash have been seized during four police raids across Wiltshire.

The four warrants were executed in Swindon, Chippenham, Trowbridge and Devizes between Wednesday, November 23 and Saturday, November 26, resulting in five arrests.

The raids were co-ordinated as part of Operation Scorpion, a joint operation between the five Police and Crime Commissioners and the five Chief Constables in the south west region, which aims to create a hostile environment for drugs and crime.

At the scene of the Trowbridge raid, on Broad Street, the town’s Neighbourhood Policing Sergeant, Sergeant Charly Chilton, spoke about the importance of disrupting drug supplies in the area.

She said: “Drugs are present everywhere in the country and I think given the effect that drugs have on our communities, on individuals and on businesses, as well as the wider picture and things like exploitation which link into that, it’s something that we’ll be focusing on for a long time”.

The raids relied on gathering information from the community in order to obtain a warrant, and Sergeant Chilton was keen to emphasise that the relationship between police and residents is a key part of tackling crime.

She added: “It’s really key that we are involved within our communities and that we work really closely with our partner agencies.

“We work in conjunction with them and with members of the community to gather intelligence and information to enable us to apply to a court for a warrant.

“My role as neighbourhood policing sergeant, mine and my team’s role, is to work within those communities, to develop those relationships and obviously to make our community a safer place for residents to live”.

The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald: Around £4000 worth of drugs and £2000 in cash were seized.Around £4000 worth of drugs and £2000 in cash were seized. (Image: Trevor Porter)

Two men were arrested during the raid on a flat in Trowbridge, both on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, and both were released under investigation pending further enquiries.

One was 29 years old and from Surrey, while the other was a 31 year old from Trowbridge.

During the other three raids, an 18-year-old woman from Chippenham was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs, and was released under investigation, while a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old man, both from Leeds, were arrested for the same reason and were both released on police bail.

In total 30 police officers took part in the raids, including neighbourhood policing teams and community policing teams.