Two teenage men have been arrested in a Bristol park following a police operation designed to tackle drug supply networks across the South West.
Mohamed Idow, 19, from Barton Hill, and 18-year-old Rahdoine Jabril, from Bishopsworth, were arrested during an operation carried out in the Riverside Park area of the city on Friday (November 25).
Along with the arrests, police from Avon and Somerset Police seized more than £3,000 worth of crack cocaine and heroin, along with almost £1,000 in cash and a phone used in to supply class A drugs.
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Idow was subsequently charged with two counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply - crack cocaine and heroin - possession of criminal property and possession of an offensive weapon, a knuckle duster.
Jabril was charged with two counts of possessing class A drugs with intent to supply - crack cocaine and heroin - and possession of criminal property - the cash.
The operation was aided by local members of the public, who gave information to Avon and Somerset Police about the possibility of drug-dealing in the St Jude's area.
The recent operation came after Operation Scorpion, a cross-border operation involving police colleagues and partners from across the south west, aimed at dismantling drugs supply networks and arresting those who profit from them.
The first phase of Operation Scorpion took place in March 2022 and resulted in the arrest of nearly 200 people, disruption to 400 drug lines, seizing over £400,000 in suspected drugs and £130,000 in cash and saw over 300 vulnerability and welfare checks being carried out.
Idow and Jabril both appeared at Bristol Magistrates' Court at the weekend (Saturday, November 26) and pleaded guilty to their charges. They both remain in custody and will appear at Bristol Crown Court on January 2, 2023.
PC Jack Wood, of the Trinity Road Neighbourhood Policing team, said: “This is a prime example of communities and the local policing team working together to rid the streets of harmful class A drugs.
“We’d like to thank those who came forward to provide information, which has helped us take a significant quantity of heroin and crack cocaine out of circulation.
“The supply of class A drugs is corrosive and damaging to our communities and we’re committed to taking positive action through proactive policing operations, like the one we carried out on Friday.”
If you have information to share, please contact the police on 101 or report to us online at: Report | Avon and Somerset Police. If you would like to remain anonymous, you can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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