Guns and drugs seized, £365,000 recovered and 10 arrested in South Yorkshire as part of 'biggest ever' UK operation

These guns were seized by police in South Yorkshire as part of the ‘biggest ever’ UK operation of its kind.
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South Yorkshire Police teamed up with forces across the country as part of an international operation to tackle serious and organised crime, which resulted in more than 500 arrests nationally and over £54 million, 77 firearms – including an AK47 assault rifle – and two tonnes of drugs being seized.

In South Yorkshire alone, 10 people were arrested, £365,000 was seized, three firearms were recovered and multiple kilograms of drugs were found.

This firearrm was seized by police in South Yorkshire as part of Operation VeneticThis firearrm was seized by police in South Yorkshire as part of Operation Venetic
This firearrm was seized by police in South Yorkshire as part of Operation Venetic
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The nationwide crackdown, dubbed Operation Venetic, has been described as the ‘biggest and most significant operation of its kind in the UK’.

The National Crime Agency had been working since 2016 with overseas partners to crack the encrypted communication service EncroChat, used exclusively by criminals to organise everything from money laundering to plots to kill rivals.

After teams in France and Netherlands infiltrated the platform two months ago, police in the UK and abroad used it to monitor the every move of the estimated 60,000 criminals using the system.

Police dog Winston searching a premises in Barnsley as part of Operation VeneticPolice dog Winston searching a premises in Barnsley as part of Operation Venetic
Police dog Winston searching a premises in Barnsley as part of Operation Venetic

The results of the huge operation have been made public after the EncroChat servers were shut down.

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Officers from the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) led the operation regionally, with each of the four forces carrying out additional work in their areas.

Across Yorkshire and the Humber, 70 arrests wre made, £2.9 million was recovered, 10 firearms were seized and nearly 120kg of cocaine and heroin was found.

Another of the weapons seized in South Yorkshire as part of Operation VeneticAnother of the weapons seized in South Yorkshire as part of Operation Venetic
Another of the weapons seized in South Yorkshire as part of Operation Venetic

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Osman Khan, of West Yorkshire Police, with responsibility for the Yorkshire and the Humber Region, said: “This operation has been of an unprecedented scale and has landed a devastating blow to those involved in serious and organised crime across the Yorkshire and the Humber Region.”

Jayne Lloyd, NCA’s head of investigations for the north, said: “Operation Venetic is the broadest and most significant co-ordinated assault on UK organised crime groups ever seen.

“Criminals who believed they were operating anonymously in the shadows of technology, have and are still being exposed, and this is causing criminals grave concern.”