'We are coming for you' warning to Wellingborough's violent drug dealers

A hard-hitting enforcement campaign which will focus on bringing the offenders of serious violence associated with Class A drug dealing and gangs in Wellingborough to justice has launched.

The activity is part of Operation Revive - a multi-partnership project which looks to address the issue of rising violence, drug dealing and anti-social behaviour in the town.

While the operation aims to take a holistic approach to the issues, including having a strong focus on preventative work, the enforcement aspect of the operation is also hugely important.

Detective Inspector Dave Harley said: “We are here for the duration and I want to make it very clear to the people in Wellingborough who are dealing crack, cocaine and heroin, as well as targeting and exploiting teenagers and young children – we are coming for you.

“This could be plain-clothed police officers stopping suspected offenders in the street or very hard-hitting enforcement activity where warrants are executed at the addresses of suspected Class A drug dealers or those we believe possess weapons like knives and firearms.

“We will be using information collected by our Force Intelligence Bureau and the community in order to do this, to ensure the right people are targeted and the right people are taken off our streets and brought to justice.

“The people of Wellingborough have had enough of the violence in the town, enough of worrying about their children growing up in areas where dealers target and exploit teenagers to carry drugs and knives, and we want them to know we are listening to their concerns and acting on them.

“We have already had some great results from our enforcement strand of this operation and I look forward to that continuing.”

Over the past two weeks, 11 warrants have been executed across Wellingborough and Northampton, utilising proactive teams, neighbourhood teams and firearms teams, targeting addresses from which we had cause to believe Class A drug dealing was taking place and, in particular, where weapons and firearms were being kept.

As a result of these warrants, a significant quantity of class A drugs and a number of weapons including machetes and knives were seized.

Four arrests were made and also, following a tip off from a member of the public, a firearm was recovered from Croyland Park in Wellingborough.

Detective Inspector Harley continued: “Dealing Class A drugs often involves the exploitation of children and a lot of work is going into this aspect of the operation also.

“Our neighbourhood officers are trying to engage with young people through early intervention and by going into schools and engaging with pupils.

"We also aren’t afraid of using anti-social behaviour legislation to stop known gang members associating.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but are determined to respond effectively to community concerns about the increasing levels of serious violence and local children being lured into a drugs and violence lifestyle, and will do all we can to reduce that violence and protect children.

“Last week we charged a 16-year-old boy with numerous offences, and put him before the court to consider a remand because of both the serious risk to others and the risk he was to himself through his gang associations.

“Finally, my message to drug dealers and those involved in violence that we haven’t quite got to yet is this - every knock at your door and every noise outside your house will start to make you paranoid as we execute more and more warrants to tackle the scourge of your criminal activity.

"We are after you.”