A 20-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of importation of a Class B drug on a day of action targeting organised crime on Wirral.
The event in Beechwood today (Thursday, May 16) marks 12 months since the launch of the Evolve Project, which is designed to build communities into more prosperous and safer areas resilient to gang-related activity.
Police worked alongside Wirral Council, Onward Homes, Wirral Ways to Recovery, Tranmere Rovers, Community Connectors, Wirral ASB team and Trading Standards to carry out activity and community engagement.
As part of the activity, police executed a warrant at an address in Bidston and arrested a 20-year-old man on suspicion of importation of a Class B drug.
He was taken to a police station in Merseyside where he remains for questioning.
Police with metal detectors also carried out land searches and discovered a suspected stolen motor bike, suspected stolen car and an offensive weapon.
Trading Standards Officers carried out an operation in the area and seized 92 illegal vapes and 37 packs of illicit cigarettes.
In the last 12 months, police have made 806 arrests related to organised crime groups, executed more than 60 warrants, carried out a significant number of stop searches, taken numerous weapons, including firearms, crossbows and knives, off the streets and seen considerable sentences handed to criminals.
Seven properties in the EVOLVE Wirral area linked to organised activity have also been closed and tenants evicted.
Thousands of counterfeit goods have been seized, rogue traders and retailers shut down, several community action days carried out to improve the areas, and numerous safeguarding referrals for child criminal exploitation (CCE) and child sexual exploitation (CSE) made.
Clear, Hold, Build is designed and partly funded by the Home Office, and sees Merseyside Police working together with partners and residents to disrupt and deter organised crime groups (OCG) and help rebuild neighbourhoods into places where people would love to live, work and visit.
The Clear phase of EVOLVE Wirral was launched in the Woodchurch, Beechwood and Noctorum areas following the murder of Elle Edwards in 2022.
In the months following Elle’s murder, the focus of Merseyside Police has been to clear these areas of those involved in serious and organised crime.
The force's work has resulted in the sentencing of Elle’s murderer Connor Chapman to 48 years in prison, four gang injunctions being served and numerous OCG members jailed.
Wirral Local Policing Superintendent Matthew Moscrop said: "The last 12 months have seen significant inroads being made in tackling organised crime in the EVOLVE Wirral neighbourhoods.
“Alongside our partners we are committed to making a discernible difference to the lives of residents who have been living under the shadow of criminality and bring about a change in attitude to those thinking about becoming involved in gang-related activity.
“Police alone cannot tackle serious and organised crime. To have the greatest impact we need to be working together with residents, community groups and partners.
“While we have received a huge amount of intelligence from the community in the last 12 months as they see what we are trying to achieve, we need people to keep giving us information to make the greatest difference.
“People need to keep telling us, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, about the drug dealing, weapons storage, exploitation, anti-social behaviour and any other crime they see so we can take action and either get people off our streets or get them the help they need.
“Information given to Crimestoppers is completely anonymous – no-one other than you will ever know you made the report but that piece of information you have could be critical in potentially saving someone’s life so please make that report either over the phone or online."
Cllr Helen Cameron, chair of Wirral's tourism, communities, culture and leisure committee, said: "Since EVOLVE launched in Wirral, the council and Merseyside Police have been working alongside a range of other partners to disrupt and deter organised crime group (OCG) activity, help stop neighbourhoods being exploited by these criminals and build communities up so residents feel safer and stronger.
"This programme has the backing of law-abiding residents in the three target areas - Woodchurch, Noctorum and Beechwood – as EVOLVE Wirral isn’t only about tackling organised crime, it is about making it more difficult for crime groups to even operate by building community resilience and bringing about positive change, thus reducing the risk of local people being drawn into gangs.
"Not only is EVOLVE implementing holistic measures to disrupt the activity of criminals in Wirral, it is proactively strengthening these areas previously blighted by serious crime, enabling residents to live more safely and peacefully."
Following the launch of EVOLVE Wirral, Onward has seen a 40% reduction in antisocial behaviour cases from 27 in 2022/23 to 16 in 2023/24.
Andrew Brown, director of housing and specialist living at Onward, added: "Over the last year we have worked closely with Merseyside Police and other local partners to support the prevention of organised crime across the region through the EVOLVE initiative.
“The way neighbours behave can make a big difference to how happy our customers are in their homes. Initiatives like these are vital to empowering our communities. By working together to share knowledge and coordinate resources we can give our customers better outcomes.”
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