SMALL HIGH SCHOOL DRUG FIND PLEASES POLICE

Police were "pleasantly surprised" with the results of a drug search at
Feilding Agricultural High School last Friday, with only a very small
amount of cannabis recovered.

Sergeant Iain Brown said police had been invited in by the principal.

A specialist drug dog and a dual purpose dog accompanied the seven officers
who took part in the search.

"It was a proactive move on behalf of the school who suspected some
students of possessing or having access to drugs at the school," Sgt Brown
said.

As a result of the search, a 15-year-old student was found to have a small
amount of cannabis in his possession and a subsequent search of his home
revealed drug paraphernalia and a further quantity of cannabis.

Police were satisfied that the second quantity of cannabis did not belong
to the youth, who has been referred to the Youth Aid section.

Sgt Brown said police were happy to assist schools that believed they had a
drug problem and the searches were carried out with the minimum of disruption.

"The specialist drug dog conducts a very passive search, which is really
good as it only disrupts the class for a few minutes. The school had some
concerns and we assisted and were pleasantly surprised that we found as
little as we did."

Principal Roger Menzies said the search was designed as a deterrent.

"We're just being a responsible school," he said.