Cops in West Dunbartonshire are continuing to crackdown on drug supply networks in the area with more than £500,000 seized by the force in the past year.
The Serious and Organised Crime Team (SOCT) say they are focused on disrupting serious and organised crime as a new report shows the number of people being charged in connection with the supply of drugs has dropped to a five-year low.
Under the Proceeds of Crime act, £506,641 has been seized by Police Scotland since April 2025, which is described as "not an insignificant amount of money."
The report, which is due to be presented to the local authority's housing and communities committee, reads: "This is money that will not be re-invested into further illegal activity including the supply of illegal drugs which brings so much misery to many.
"The primary harm caused by organised crime groups locally relates to drug misuse. This includes addiction, violence, exploitation of vulnerable individuals and associated acquisitive crime used to fund drug dependency.
"There has been no significant year on year variation in the number of drug related deaths and near fatal overdoses in West Dunbartonshire, which bucks the national trend as virtually all areas are showing significant increases."
Despite this, it is noted that the figures in West Dunbartonshire remain amongst the highest per head of population.
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On the whole, the total number of crimes and offences recorded within the authority has seen an overall increase year on year of 10.9%.
The report goes on to note that all types of crime have experienced increases compared to last year, with road traffic offences experiencing the highest increase of 20.2% year on year.
Acquisitive crimes, which includes shop lifting, theft, and housebreaking has seen sharp rises with thefts from vehicles soaring by 77%.
Much of the increase is understood to have been previously attributed to a repeat offender whose usual way of working was to target unlocked vehicles for personal belongings at various locations in both Clydebank and Alexandria. They have since been detected.
The report added: "Despite this, the overall number of incidents reported to the police over the previous year is marginally lower than the 5-year average.
"This general upward trajectory is representative of the national crime recording picture."
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