RECORD PUB DRUGS RAID

Sixty policemen poured into a pub on Friday night in a crackdown on
suspected crack cocaine dealers.

Officers simultaneously swooped on the neighbouring William Hill
betting stop and confronted everyone present.

Four teams from the Finchley-based Territorial Support Group, wearing
visored helmets, stab-proof vests, boiler suits and balaclavas,
swarmed in the front and back doors of The Stone Rose, at 8.10pm, in
the largest raid in the borough this year.

The clientele and staff at the boozer, which was holding a ladies'
night, were startled as the officers locked down the venue to prevent
the destruction of evidence and stop people escaping.

One Territorial Support Group leader told the Observer moments
afterwards: "People were taken by total surprise. There were some
drugs thrown on the floor as officers came through the pub.

"Only one person was taken to the floor as a result of their
behaviour."

All of the approximately 35 patrons, except elderly drinkers, were
handcuffed and searched one by one in the venue's toilets at the rear.
Some were strip-searched.

Deepak Patel, 38, a director of the company that runs the pub, was
critical.

He said: "The way they stormed in and handcuffed everybody was heavy
handed. There are lots of disgruntled people.

"It made us feel as though we had a drug factory in the back of our
place."

Mr Patel's business has run the pub for four months, changing the name
from The Sarcen Stone to The Stone Rose.

He said: "The pub had a reputation before we took over. There's a list
of people who have been barred and we've stuck to that.

"When we came, we installed 15 security cameras.

"We look at the CCTV and monitor any suspicious actions, and we handle
it.

"I'm not condoning people having any kind of drug. In any pub in any
area, there are people who do carry drugs but as a licensee I cannot
check every single person and we're not allowed to check."

The raid, which was codenamed Operation Puffer, and saw police execute
a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act, resulted in six men
being arrested and bailed on suspicion of possession of class A drugs,
one for possession of cannabis and one for a public order offence.

Five others were warned for possessing cannabis and had their drugs
seized and destroyed.

It had taken months of work by officers from Harrow police's borough
investigation unit, working on complaints from the public, among other
strands of intelligence, to bring the raid about.

Chief Inspector Louie Smith, who is responsible for intelligence
management in Harrow, said: "It is part of a package to deal with
drugs and drug dealing, and follows on from Operation Preserver,
tackling street drug deals in Wealdstone.

"This operation was a statement of intent. We'll certainly use the
same kind of tactics to make more arrests: when we have got reliable
intellgience we'll take action."

On the back of the raid, Harrow police's licensing officer Sergeant
Carl Davis will consider whether to apply for Harrow Council to review
the pub's licence.