DRUGS AND WEAPONS SEIZED AS POLICE ARREST 70 IN DAWN RAIDS

POLICE claimed a big victory in the fight against heroin dealers yesterday
after an operation aimed at stopping a huge rise in the use of the drug.

Lothian and Borders police arrested 70 people, seized more than UKP300,000
in illegal substances and assets and confiscated an arsenal of weapons
during Operation Foil.

The action, which took place over four days, was a direct response to a
huge increase in heroin supplies in the past year. Increasing numbers of
drug users are smoking heroin instead of injecting it, but force commanders
said they did not want the authorities to be caught out as they had been in
the early 1980s, when the drug flooded the capital.

The chief constable, Roy Cameron, said a large number of so-called "Mr
Bigs" had been arrested and he said that other dealers who had escaped the
crackdown would continue to be targeted.

The police said the operation had severely disrupted the supply chain and
promised to continue the crackdown.

Large quantities of the drug have flooded the Lothians and the Borders over
the past year. Police said the supplies are very pure but one "wrap" costs
little more than an ecstasy tablet.

Mr Cameron said: "Many people out there are chasing the dragon but our
mission and aim is to slay the dragon. The message to dealers is simple.
They can cancel this year's Christmas."

The operation, which took months to plan, involved 800 uniformed and
specialist officers who carried out a number of pre-dawn raids across the
region over the past four days.

Police said that some of the 100 homes and other premises raided were
heavily fortified but they managed to seize drugs, mostly heroin, worth
UKP250,000, as well as UKP100,000 cash. Weapons, including handguns and a
crossbow, were also captured. Other drugs seized included ecstasy,
amphetamines, cocaine and cannabis.

Mr Cameron said: "This has been the biggest co-ordinated operation in the
history of Lothian and Borders police and directly targeted heroin dealers.
There has been a 400 per cent increase in reported heroin use since 1996,
when we had fewer than 20 cases. Now we have over 100. We were anxious not
to return to the bad old days in the 1980s and all the problems associated
with that period.

"This action sends out a message that we will be the champions of
communities in a sustained endeavour to render our streets drug-free for
the benefit of everyone. We regard the people we have arrested as very
significant players in terms of the drug network in Lothian and Borders.
The term 'Mr Big' is relative, but for us they are 'Mr Bigs'."

The assistant chief constable, Tom Wood, who is in charge of force
operations, said that heroin supplies were arriving in Edinburgh from
Turkey but the operation had put a major spanner in the works for many
dealers. He said the raids were carried out across the region as a
reflection that the drug was available not only in the city housing
estates. The raids took place in Livingston, Dalkeith, Gilmerton and
Craigmillar in Edinburgh and in towns and villages in the Borders. Mr Wood
said: "We went into the Borders after we received intelligence reports,
which shows just how widespread this problem is. It is a problem in small
villages just as much as in the city."

Officers said they were keen to halt the progress of the drug trade in
Edinburgh before the problem mirrored that which is being experienced in
Glasgow at the moment.

Mr Wood said: "We do not have the gang warfare over turf that is visible
not too far from here. But we wanted to nip it in the bud before the
situation escalated to that, a threat which was very real.

"It could be argued that in the late 1970s and early 1980s we were caught
napping by the drug problem. We are determined that will not happen again
and is something we will simply not accept. This operation was not a flash
in the pan."

Detective Chief Superintendent Douglas Watson, the head of CID, said: "This
was a difficult operation to execute and we encountered some heavily
fortified houses during these raids. But that does not put us off and many
dealers were woken up with us kicking their doors down at 6am.

"At first our information was that the drug was simply being smoked. But we
now fear increasing numbers of people are beginning to inject heroin."

Armed officers also stood by during the raids, during which two officers
were bitten by guard dogs.

The chief constable has written to all agencies involved in the fight
against drugs to highlight the tough police action.

Meanwhile, a conference in Glasgow yesterday addressed Scotland's drug
problem and how it could be tackled.

In the first forum of its kind since Scotland Against Drugs was convened,
politicians, young people, drug workers, recovering addicts, doctors and
the police met to discuss the way forward.

Checked-by: Mike Gogulski