Video shows police raids on the Isle of Man as part of undercover operation
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00:00 [Door slams]
00:02 [Music]
00:10 Being part of the Common Travel Area enables unfettered access to our island,
00:15 making us vulnerable to being exploited by organised crime groups,
00:18 who see the Isle of Man as a lucrative market for the sale of illicit drugs.
00:22 This is not a victimless crime.
00:25 In order to conduct their illegal activities with the least risk to themselves,
00:29 the organised criminal groups in the UK and here locally target young and vulnerable people
00:35 and exploit them using coercion, intimidation or even violence,
00:39 which ultimately forces them into a life of crime.
00:43 The sale of drugs not only leads to violence and harm, but it also destroys communities.
00:48 Tackling criminality is one of the key policing purposes outlined in the Constabulary's policing strategy
00:54 and is reinforced in the policing plan, which has highlighted tackling serious and organised crime
01:00 as a priority for the Minister for Justice and Home Affairs.
01:04 The Isle of Man and Constabulary have realigned their finite resources to proactively target
01:08 key members of organised crime groups, disrupting and dismantling their empires,
01:13 seizing significant amounts of drugs before they hit the streets
01:17 and taking cash which has been acquired as proceeds from such criminality.
01:21 As you will have already seen in the media, some of the criminals in these Irish lungs of organised crime groups
01:27 have had significant prison sentences imposed, which should be seen as a deterrent,
01:32 insomuch as we will not tolerate such criminality as a society here in the Isle of Man.
01:38 One of the strands we needed to tackle as an organisation was the prevalence of Class A drugs being sold
01:44 throughout the night-time economy.
01:47 Our data shows that not only does this illegal activity increase the levels of harm and violence on the island,
01:53 with a large proportion of our serious assaults being drug-related,
01:57 but it ultimately sees a greater financial yield, with limited risk to organised crime groups targeting our island.
02:04 As a comparison, the price of cocaine on the streets of the Isle of Man
02:08 is three times the price of cocaine on the streets of Merseyside.
02:11 Throughout the latter part of 2023, the Isle of Man Constabulary,
02:15 working in partnership with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit,
02:19 have engaged in a covert operation with the objective of identifying individuals
02:24 actively dealing Class A drugs throughout the night-time economy,
02:28 predominantly in or around licensed premises.
02:31 This operation was successful in that evidence was gained identifying in excess of 20 local individuals
02:38 responsible for either dealing Class A drugs or involved in facilitating drug deals.
02:44 Between 30 January and 8 February this year,
02:47 the Isle of Man Constabulary were engaged in the enforcement phase of this operation,
02:51 and 21 local suspects were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
02:57 As a result of these arrests, 19 have now been charged with offences
03:01 for being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs and are currently going through the criminal justice system.
03:07 Tackling organised criminality will remain one of the Constabulary's top priorities,
03:12 and together with other law enforcement agencies,
03:15 we will continue to relentlessly pursue people trying to exploit our island,
03:19 and we will endeavour to make the Isle of Man a hostile environment for such criminality to thrive.
03:25 We will continue to proactively target criminals using the maritime port and airport,
03:31 mail coming into the island, small boats and local drug dealers,
03:35 particularly those exploiting children and vulnerable people.
03:39 If any members of the public have any information on those involved in serious and organised crime,
03:44 or involved in the supply of drugs on the Isle of Man,
03:47 then they are urged to contact Douglas Police Headquarters,
03:50 or alternatively they can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
03:58 [Door slams]
03:59 [Music plays]