POLICE STEP UP WAR ON DRUGS

Police yesterday (Wednesday) raided a Hamilton house as part of a
crackdown on drug dealing.

Around 12 officers wearing helmets and carrying shields burst into a
flat in Silvertonhill Place just after 9am.

They broke down the door using a battering ram and other implements
and were joined by uniformed officers, dog handlers and a search team.

It followed a raid on a house in Hamilton's Highstonehall Road on
Tuesday.

Drug paraphernalia was later removed from the Silvertonhill Place flat
and a report has been sent to the procurator fiscal.

Chief inspector Tom Aitken of Hamilton police office said this week
that the force would act on any information it received on suspected
drug dealing.

"This was not a one-off exercise. It was part of an on-going offensive
targeting dealers," he said.

"We had identified certain individuals based on intelligence we had
received and obtained the necessary warrants.

"If individuals concerned have a history of violence and may present a
danger, then public order officers will be used.

"When the intelligence is there and the warrants are granted, we will
take this action - and will continue to do so.

"It is one of our main priorities in South Lanarkshire. The public
would expect us to do nothing less."

Recent figures released by police show that the amount of people
snared for drug dealing rose by 71 per cent between 2006-07 and 2007-08.

The statistics reflected the number of operations carried out to
target the crime.

One, codenamed Robust, occurred last June and led to 34 people
appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court charged with drug dealing.

Among those later sentenced for dealing in heroin were Mark Cain, of
Millgate Road, Hamilton, and James Black, of Rigside. They each
received one-year jail terms.