SHETLAND TARGETED BY DRUGS GANGS

Police Seize Ukp70,000-Worth Of Heroin As Public Vigilance Is Urged To
Help Tackle The Problem

Shetland, the nation's most northerly outpost and home of windswept
wildlife and Viking folklore, is being swamped by a rising tide of
illegal drugs as mainland dealers target remote communities. The
islands, which are home to around 22,000 people, enjoy near full
employment thanks to the area's huge oil wealth - making it a key
target for organised drug gangs from Liverpool and London.

Senior gang figures have already obtained a stranglehold over
north-east Scotland. Now they have turned their eyes to Shetland,
which stretches from Sumburgh Head in the south to the tiny island of
Out Stack, Britain's most northerly extremity.

Over the last year heroin with a street value of around UKP70,000 has
been seized by police. Following a number of drug-related deaths on
the islands, a new organisation was launched earlier this month to
combat the growing menace. Community Alcohol and Drugs Services
Shetland (CADSS) wants the community to become more involved in
tackling the problem.

Gill Hession, the head of Shetland's alcohol and drugs services, has
acknowledged the islands are being targeted by dealers and admitted
there has been an alarming increase in heroin use. Last year 4,998
needles were exchanged on the isles. 'We have about 200 people who
come to us for help, but that's probably not representative of the
scale of the problem,' said Karen Smith, drug and alcohol development
officer with the Shetland Drug Action Team.

Alexander Cluness, an independent councillor for Lerwick, acknowledged
the problem but warned those looking to expand their market by coming
to the isles to watch out.

'They want to be careful because it's easier to detect them in
Shetland,' he said. 'At airports and ports we've got sniffer dogs and
the police are often warned in advance these people are coming. The
detection rate on the island is really high.'

Increased public awareness has meant that dealers, who have been
offering 'free samples' of heroin or methamphetamine to get people
hooked, are being identified almost as soon as they arrive on the islands.

'Recently there's been quite a significant sea-change in public
awareness and public opinion about drug issues,' said Brian Gregson,
chairman of CADSS. 'People are starting to take notice after years of
claiming drugs aren't a big problem in Shetland.'

Professor Neil McKeganey, director of the centre for drug misuse
research at Glasgow University, said rural communities were
particularly vulnerable to the threat posed by the drugs trade. 'We're
seeing the problem growing more rapidly in rural areas than in urban
areas, and that's as a result of the decisions of those at the very
highest level of the drugs trade,' he said.

Recently George Beardwood, 48, a father of eight from Liverpool, was
sentenced to five years in prison after trying to bring heroin with a
street value of UKP11,000 into the isles. Beardwood admitted trying to
smuggle the class-A drug through Holmsgarth ferry terminal in Lerwick
in September. Police were waiting after receiving a tip-off. Beardwood
was stopped and 11 wraps of the drug were found in his holdall bag.

Beardwood steadfastly refused to provide the details of others
involved in the transaction and outlined how he had been pressured
into making the trip after running up debts to dealers in Merseyside
and being beaten up.

'The whole of Grampian has been targeted by criminals down south but I
think recent sentencing shows that Shetland shouldn't be regarded as a
soft touch by those who deal drugs,' said Malcolm Bell, who is the
chief inspector for Lerwick and area commander for Shetland.