A knife and a small amount of 'white powder' were found in a pub toilet as part of a police crackdown.
Merseyside Police's Neighbourhood Policing Week of Action saw community officers in Sefton uncover ammunition and class A drugs in a disused railway in Bootle.
The find came after officers carried out a sweep of a disused railway line on Hapsford Road.
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North Sefton officers then took to Sefton Police Facebook page to share what they had been up to on their first day of Week of Action.
They revealed that they assisted with a crime scene in Southport at the start of the day and then viewed CCTV of criminal damage at Botanic Gardens and of a "prolific" shoplifters shoplifter in the town centre.
The police page also told of how two 15-year-old boys were arrested on suspicion of supplying cannabis in the town centre. Scales and a mobile phone were found after searching one of the boys. Following a search of a home address, more cannabis was found. Investigations were continued into it being part of county lines supply.
After intelligence submissions by the neighbourhood policing team, county lines teams arrested two men on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs after they were found with 22 wraps of cocaine, more than £1,000 in cash and two mobile phones believed to be used for drug dealing purposes.
Another man, 38, was also arrested after discarding 48 wraps of class A drugs when attempting to make off from county lines police officers.
The Sefton Police page also announced that they had made an arrest on Tuesday evening. Officers arrested a 17-year-old boy from Waterloo after he was searched in Crosby and a search of his home address found cannabis.
It was also revealed the police force had arrested two men earlier that day from Waterloo after they were seen selling suspected stolen goods.
South Sefton Community Team spent Wednesday working with One Vision Housing educating front line workers in identifying signs and symptoms of cuckooing.
This work continues throughout the year to clamp down on vulnerable children and adults being used and intimidated by gangs.
South Sefton and Operation Pelican officers executed two warrants in Bootle, continuing the week of action, on Friday.
At the first property, officers located and seized around 11kg of cannabis and approximately £8,000 in cash.
A 29-year man and 49-year-old woman were arrested for drug supply offences and possession of criminal property as a result.
In the second property officers recovered around 2.5kg of cannabis and £10,000 in cash. A 28-year old man was arrested for drug supply offences and possession of criminal property as a result.
It is estimated that these executed warrants took £100,000 off the streets and disrupted organised crime groups.
On Saturday night, South Sefton officers conducted pub walkthroughs in the area in an attempt to tackle organised crime within pubs and clubs.
During checks, a knife was located hidden in a toilet area of the Salisbury Pub in Bootle.
A small amount of white powder (suspected Class A drugs) was also recovered.
Enquiries are ongoing to establish any suspects linked to the knife and anyone with any information is asked to contact police.
Two men in the pub toilets, aged 18 and 19, were also found to be in possession of cannabis by officers. The 19-year-old man from Bootle will attend a police station in Liverpool for questioning and the 18-year-old man was dealt with by way of community resolution.
Officers will continue to provide high-visibility patrols in pubs across the South Sefton area in the coming weeks to provide reassurance to the local community.
Community Policing Inspector Ray Mavrakakis said: “We are carrying out walk-throughs of our local pubs to ensure that the overwhelming majority of law-abiding Sefton residents can enjoy our local nightlife safely.
“The knife we recovered on Saturday means that one less weapon can be used to cause fear and harm in our communities.
“We have unfortunately in recent months seen the catastrophic consequences of knife crime on Merseyside and we simply won’t stand by and allow people to carry knives and threaten the safety of themselves and others.
“As part of Operation Target, between 1st April and 31st December 2020, we made 508 arrests for knife possession, over 430 knife-related crime arrests, recovered over 1300 knives and offensive weapons, carried out over 170 open land searches and stop searched over 4,400 people.
“We have also carried out regular stop searches, warrants and open land searches to locate knives and ensure those who store, carry and use them are brought to justice.
“If you have any information about anyone carrying or using a dangerous weapon in your area please don’t hesitate to contact us.
“Similarly if you’re out and about in pubs in Sefton and have any concerns about criminality, please report it to our officers on patrol and we can take action.”
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