THE regional serious and organised crime unit Zephyr has reached 100 arrests since its inception two years ago.

Since it began in 2010, more than 70 of those arrested have been charged and are going through the court process, while others remain on bail pending further inquiries.

Officers have seized more than 20kg of Class A drugs, 10kg of Class B drugs and more than 50kg of cutting agents commonly used by drug dealers to dilute substances and increase profits.

Weapons, fraudulent documentation and £220,000 in cash have also been recovered.

Zephyr is made up of officers and specialist staff from the five police forces of the south west – Wiltshire, Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall and Dorset.

The team works closely with the Borders Agency, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, Serious and Organised Crime Agency and Trading Standards.

Zephyr also has a financial investigation team which seeks to strip criminals of their assets and the money used to fund their luxury lifestyles.

So far officers have confiscated £3.5m and have £4.4m under restraint. There are 27 confiscation investigations ongoing.

Head of Zephyr Supt Nigel Rock said: “These are fantastic results which demonstrate the impact Zephyr is already having in the South West and beyond.

“Over the past year we have disrupted several significant organised crime groups who have caused harm to our communities. As well as placing offenders before the courts we are using the confiscation legislation available to us to ensure that crime does not pay.”

You can report information to your local police team by calling 101.