WEAPONS, drugs and cash have been seized by officers following a number of raids carried by Cleveland Police.
Officers raided 20 addresses as part of Operation Sentinel, which is targeting the supply of drugs, making nine arrests and recovering £11,000 in cash, three machetes, a knife, BB gun, crossbow bolts and class B drugs.
Chief Constable Richard Lewis, pictured below, said: "This operation was a huge success, resulting in many arrests, thousands of pounds being recovered and weapons and drugs being taken from our streets.
“I would like to thank officers and staff for their continued hard work and dedication in clamping down on drugs activity. Their commitment does not go unnoticed.
“In addition to this, I would like to thank the residents of our local communities for their continued support and for raising these issues in their community. It is important that the public see that we take action based on information provided to us and we will continue to tackle ongoing issues with drugs.”
Inspector Tony Cross, of the Community Drugs Enforcement Team, said: “The arrest phase of this investigation has only been achieved through collaborative working between the police, North East Regional Crime Unit and other partner agencies.
“We welcome and will act upon any intelligence received from the public in order to tackle serious and organised crime and protect the public from harm.”
The eight men and one woman, aged between 16 and 50, remain in custody.
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