POLICE DRUGS TEAM VOW TO SEIZE 'FLASHY CARS'

FLASHY cars paid for with drugs money will be seized by police using
more aggressive tactics to fight crime.

There will be more raids on suspected drug dealers in Calderdale, more
covert surveillance on wanted criminals and more officers dedicated to
tackling the crime which the general public see as
untouchable.

The new tactics herald a key change to Calderdale CID which has been
divided into two parts. The traditional 'reactive' side will remain,
alongside a new 'proactive' CID team with Det Insp Tony Nicholson at
the helm. Under him will be three smaller teams, each made up of six
or seven detectives and police constables, headed by a sergeant.

"These changes signify a more aggressive and more robust approach to
policing by CID officers. Our aim is to really disrupt the activities
of criminals and let them know that we are on to them," said Det Insp
Nicholson.

The new CID encompass the police division's drugs team and will mean
closer working with neighbourhood policing teams and financial
investigators.

Making people accountable for their assets will play a big part in the
team's investigations and they will be looking to take away criminals'
assets.

"There's a little used piece of legislation which will have a big
impact on the success of this team," Det Insp Nicholson said.

"The law's on our side, the courts are on our side. It means we can
make someone account for how they can afford their flash car, or their
luxury house - the onus is on them."

He added: "How many times do you see young drivers, who've never
worked a day in their life, in fancy, UKP50,000 cars? Everyone has their
suspicions and sometimes they're proved right and sometimes they're
proved wrong. What I'm asking is for people who have suspicions like
that, to tell us about them and let us investigate.