THE HUMAN COST OF DRUGS

After the success of this week's dawn drug raids in York, STEPHEN
LEWIS and CHARLOTTE PERCIVAL reflect on the results.

THERE is no doubt that police in York are delighted with the success
of their raids aimed at suspected drug dealers this week.

During operations on Monday and Wednesday, teams of officers
accompanied by sniffer dogs targeted properties across the city for dawn raids.

Substantial quantities of drugs - including heroin and crack cocaine
- - were seized, and 15 people were arrested.

The raids, codenamed Operation Holland, were the result of months of
intelligence-gathering by North Yorkshire Police.

Officers hope they have disrupted established drugs supply networks
and sent out a clear message to the city's drug dealers: there is no
place to hide.

Operation Holland also sent out a message to the wider York
community, says Acting Insp Vicky Burton, who was in charge of
Wednesday's raids in Acomb, Clifton, Dringhouses and the Leeman Road
area of York.

"We think it is good for the community to see that we are not sitting
back," she said. "It is intelligence which the public has provided
that has in part enabled us to do this."

The suspects arrested are likely to be charged with a series of
offences, from conspiracy to supply controlled drugs to possession
with intent to supply.

But while the raids may mean dealers will be keeping their heads low
for a while, no one - especially not the police - thinks for a moment
that the war on drugs has been won.

Drugs of all descriptions are readily available in York, if you know
where to go, Insp Burton admitted.

She does not want to exaggerate the scale of the problem, she says.
"But York is no different to any other city. There are drug dealers,
and if you know the places to go, drugs are available."

That will continue to be the case, despite this week's successes.

Operation Holland was the largest drugs operation in York for at
least five years. But it was part of an on-going process, Insp Burton
said: one designed to manage the drugs problem, even if it can't
eliminate it altogether.

"The issue we have is that if we don't keep on targeting drug
dealers, it can spiral out of control," Insp Burton said.

"It is something that has to be an on-going target, otherwise it will
increase. We only have to take our eye off the ball for a couple of
months and it will creep up."

Police are determined that will not be allowed to happen. Drugs have
a devastating impact on people who use them, and on their families
and friends, Insp Burton says.

But they affect all of us: even those who have never come into
contact with them.

Drug addicts need to pay for them, Insp Burton said. "Unless they are
in employment, which the majority of them are not, then the only way
they can find that money is through committing crime."

That means burglaries, car break-ins, thefts of bikes and satnavs,
which can be sold on by addicts to feed their habit. "So if you're
burgled, or your car is broken into, there is a high chance that it
is being sold on to feed someone's drug habit," Insp Burton said.
"Alternatively, some dealers will accept property in exchange for drugs."

Even if you haven't been a victim of crime directly, you still suffer
from the illegal drugs trade, she added; drug-related crime helps to
push up insurance premiums.

That is why police are keen for people to come forward with
information that may help in their continuing war on drugs.

Any information can help police build up a picture of what is going
on - and build their case against suspects.

Sometimes it may seem that police do not act on the information
given, she said. But that is not true.

This week's raids were the result of information that had been
gathered over many months. That seemingly trivial piece of
information that someone gave months ago may have made all the
difference: and may have resulted with a dealer waking up this week
to the sound of his door being battered in by police.

It is not only information about suspected dealers that police need,
however. They are also desperate to crack down on the "fences" -
criminals who handle stolen property.

They are a vital link in the drugs trade, Insp Burton said, because
it is they who allow desperate addicts to get their hands on the
money that feeds their addiction, money that ultimately ends up in
the hands of dealers.

Cut out the fence, Insp Burton said, and you starve the dealers of
cash. "It makes it much more difficult for the drugs users and
dealers to get their hands on currency."

* You can pass on information to North Yorkshire Police in confidence
by calling 0845 6060247, or else by using the Crimestoppers number:
0800 555 111.

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HOW HEROIN TURNS DECENT PEOPLE INTO THIEVES

A DRUG like heroin can turn a perfectly decent person into a
thieving, lying wreck who is driven by only one thing: the desperate
craving for the next hit to relieve the pain.

Anybody can become an addict, says Acting Insp Vicky Burton, of York
Police. "We see people from all walks of life. Some people may have
had a very good job or have been happily married."

People may start taking drugs for a variety of reasons. They may
simply fall in with the wrong people, Insp Burton said. Or they may
have suffered a death in the family, or have gone through a painful
divorce, and turned to drugs for release.

The first sign that an addiction is starting to grip is often that
someone loses their job. Heroin is essentially a painkiller: it
leaves users feeling very calm for a while. But it also makes their
lives chaotic, Insp Burton said. "They are driven by the craving for
the next hit, which is overwhelming them."

Unable to hold down a job, they turn to crime to feed their habit.
They tell lies, and may try to sponge off family and friends, putting
huge strains on family relationships. They often end up living in
squalid conditions.

People who don't understand the nature of addiction often think why
don't they just stop', says Kevin Curran, a York film-maker and youth
worker who has worked with addicts.

But the physical pain caused by craving, and the psychological effect
of the drug, make that hugely difficult.

Often, addicts have little hope, he said. And since heroin is a
painkiller, it is easier to drown out the pain of their lives with
the next hit than face up to their situation. One of Kevin's films -
Stranded: On Cloud Nine - followed three York heroin addicts
struggling to cope with their addiction.

Afghan barons no longer in control of the poppy fields SO how do
illegal drugs find their way into the UK?

Both crack cocaine and heroin are available relatively cheaply in York.

Crack can be bought for as little as UKP10 a wrap.

The same amount of money will get you 0.2mg of heroin. To the
uninitiated, that may not sound like much. But it would be enough for
two or three hits, says Insp Burton - or a single hit for a hardened drug user.

Such low prices may tempt people to experiment. They can then get
drawn into a vicious cycle of addiction.

One of the reasons for the low cost of heroin may be the problems in
Afghanistan.

Much of the opium which makes its way into the heroin that floods
Europe is grown in Afghanistan. In the past, crime overlords in that
country kept tight controls on the amount of opium grown, so as to
keep prices high, said Insp Burton.

Because of the recent troubles in Afghanistan, crime bosses have been
unable to keep such a tight lid on the amount of opium grown.

The result is that farmers are being allowed to grow a lot more. The
Afghan farmers sell to traders, who are believed to include Taliban
leaders as well as Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani traders.

Traffickers use routes through Iran and the Balkans to get the drug
to Europe - and sometimes travel through the old Soviet republics of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and through Russia.

Drugs are smuggled into this country by boat or by using drugs
"mules" on chartered flights.

[sidebars]

HEROIN

Heroin is a natural opiate made from morphine. It is highly addictive
and a very strong painkiller.

It comes as a white powder when it is pure, but street heroin can be
anything from brownish white to brown.

It can be smoked, dissolved in water and injected or snorted. Heroin
slows down body functioning and reduces physical and psychological
pain. Most users get a rush a few minutes after taking it and
feelings of warmth, well-being, sleepiness and relaxation. Overdoses
can lead to coma and even death from respiratory failure, while
injecting heroin can seriously damage your veins. Sharing needles can
also put you in danger of infections like hepatitis B or C and HIV/AIDS.

COCAINE

COCAINE powder, freebase and crack are all forms of cocaine;
stimulants with powerful, but short-lived, effects.

Coke is a white powder that is usually divided into lines and snorted
up the nose. Crack cocaine is made into lumps or rocks and is usually
smoked in a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or in foil. Both forms
can be prepared to make a solution for injecting.

Stimulants temporarily speed up the processes of your mind and body
and taking cocaine makes users feel wide-awake and confident. It can
raise the body's temperature, make the heart beat faster and stave
off feelings of hunger.

Risks can include flu-like feelings, depression and anxiety and
overdose, which can raise the body's temperature, cause convulsions
and respiratory or heart failure.

Injection can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene.