Met Police makes 515 gang-related arrests

15 February 2012

A total of 515 gang-related arrests have been made and a huge amounts of weapons, drugs and cash seized as a result of last weeks raids spearheaded by the newly formed Trident Gang Crime Command.

More than half of those arrested in last weeks three-day operation across London - which involved almost 5,000 MPS officers and staff from Wed 8th-Fri 10 Feb - have now been charged (total of 253) with a variety of offences ranging from GBH and possession of firearms to violent disorder and assault.

A further 186 individuals have been bailed pending further investigation, while seventeen others received cautions. Eight penalty notices, one final warning, and three reprimands were also issued. 14 per cent of those arrested (47 offenders) had no further action taken against them. 

A large number of weapons were seized including 14 guns, 37 knives and other bladed articles and 25 other weapons including CS canisters, a cross bow, a Samurai sword, 17 coshes/metal bars and one dangerous dog. 

Firearms included a sawn off shot gun, eight hand guns (two semi-automatic), three imitation firearms, a taser and a gas-powered gun. 

Officers also seized a huge haul of drugs including half a kilo of crack/cocaine in Southwark, sixty seven grams of heroin in Newcross, Lewisham (with a street value of approximately £3,500), and uncovered four cannabis factories. 

Det Chief Supt Stuart Cundy, OCU Commander for the new Trident Gang Crime Command, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the carefully planned three days of operations have yielded such excellent results. 

"The number of arrests and seizures of firearms sends a clear message to those who persist in gang violence that we will pursue them relentlessly, using all the options at our disposal.

"But I would reiterate that we want to prevent young people getting involved in gang offending.  

"We are working with other agencies to offer them routes out, such as the conflict resolution service we can refer people to, as well other types of assistance from other statutory and voluntary partners. 

"These results give us a valuable basis for moving forward in our intention of reducing gang crime and improve community support for what we want to achieve, namely protecting some of our most vulnerable victims and communities in London." 

In Bexley alone, fifty tennis-ball sized packets of crack, two large compressed cases of skunk cannabis, one kg of heroin and "£10,000 in cash were seized, while in Brent 668 mature cannabis plants were found. In Wandsworth, crystal meth was seized from a property along with a taser. In excess of quarter of a million pounds cash was also recovered - £254,000, as well as more than 25 vehicles, including a £40,000 Mercedes. 

Top gang member targets on all 32 boroughs were visited across the three days, and aside from raids other deployments included: 17 ANPR (including two armed) operations, 470 weapons sweeps, 29 knife arches; covert operations including directed stop and search, and high visibility patrols outside secondary schools across 13 key boroughs. 

The new Trident Gang Crime Command was launched publicly with a mass photocall in Trafalgar Square which saw community workers, local council leads, relatives of people killed by gang crime and others involved in tackling gang violence in London coming together to demonstrate a show of strength. It marks a step change in how the MPS tackles gang crime in the capital and forms a key part of the Met Commissioner's total war on crime. 

The new command of 1,000 officers involves the setting up of dedicated gang taskforces in 19 key boroughs who will work with their partners to implement diversion and prevention activities, overseen by a central 'hub' which will coordinate activity. 

It is enhanced with additional specialist resources from the MPS, and will take responsibility for real time monitoring of gang activity across London and work with new 'Grip and Pace' centres to coordinate and task corporate resources, both overt and covert, quickly at the relevant places.