A long-term undercover police operation in South Lanarkshire has resulted in 21 people being sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison for drugs offences.

The jail terms, ranging from six months to two-and-a-half years, were handed down at Hamilton Sheriff Court.

The accused were among 33 people arrested during dawn raids in the area in June 2007.

They were all suspected to be involved in the supply of Class A drugs, predominantly heroin.

Ch Supt Tim Love, of Strathclyde Police, said “Operation Robust” was designed to target those who were “blighting” the community.

“The arrests of those individuals and their subsequent sentencing has shown that we will not tolerate a minority of people bringing misery to the lives of others,” he said.

“We all want South Lanarkshire to be a place that its residents can feel safe in and be proud of, and there is no place for criminal activity in that vision.

“Strathclyde Police work to gather as much information as possible to deal with offences and offenders but we also rely heavily on the people of South Lanarkshire to help us by coming forward with information they may have.”

“That was the case with Operation Robust and I believe it has sent out a clear message to anyone engaging in criminality that they can and will be caught.”

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