POLICE chiefs in Colchester believe a major undercover operation against Class A drugs will lead to an overall drop in crime across the town.

Chief Supt Alison Newcomb, divisional commander for Essex Police’s eastern division, said she was delighted with the result of Operation Lowland, which has so far seen 20 drug dealers sentenced to a total of 65 years in jail.

A new fast-track court procedure saw the drug dealers, who all admitted supplying Class A drugs, including heroin and crack cocaine, jailed at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday, only 19 days after 11 homes in Colchester were raided on November 4.

Mrs Newcomb said: “I am absolutely delighted it has been dealt with so quickly by the courts and that sentencing was severe. They have been given a total of 65 years and there are more cases to be heard.

“It was a very successful operation, which was run over a number of weeks and culminated in a large number of arrests.

“The court result sends out a strong message to other people considering supplying Class A drugs. These people were given between 18 months and seven years in prison, and they pleaded guilty.”

A further eight people are to appear in court on drugs charges at a later date, in relation to the operation.

Mrs Newcomb said in the past year, crime in Colchester had fallen by 5.7 per cent.

She said it was too early to analyse the impact of the operation, but she expected crime levels to fall even further, as drug dealing has a knock-on effect on the number of other crimes committed.

She added: “One of the important things we have done is to follow this up with other agencies, such as the Open Road charity.

“As well as jailing drug dealers, we need to get help for those people who are dependent on drugs and get them away from crime.”

During the case it was revealed the purity of the drugs sold was rarely above 50 per cent, and that people had been injecting themselves with washing powder and flour, with a small amount of heroin in it.