FEARS GROW OVER CRACK COCAINE IN CAPITAL

CRACK cocaine has been recovered during drug raids in Scotland's capital,
fuelling fears that the highly-addictive substance is growing in popularity
in the city.

According to police sources, dealers have been giving away free samples of
crack to heroin users in an effort to get them hooked on the drug and
caught in the vicious spiral of coming back for more.

Superintendent Jim Coupland of Lothian and Borders Police warned: "This is
a very dangerous drug. It has devastated communities across America and
various parts of England.

"If someone suggested to us a year ago that we would find crack cocaine in
the Piershill area of the city we would have fallen about the place laughing.

"Now our intelligence suggests that it is widely available, especially in
the east of Edinburgh."

The most recent raid on the Piershill estate uncovered drugs and guns with
a street value of more than UKP 40,000.

Among the drugs found were heroin, ecstasy, cannabis and crack cocaine.

Crack first appeared in the UK in the late 1980s and was available in
Scotland by the early 1990s, although its popularity was not initially as
high as had been feared.

But Coupland, who was in charge of the recent raids, is extremely worried
by what his officers have recovered.

He said: "The amount found may only have been for personal use but it is
still highly significant. It is extremely concerning. This sort of
discovery is something that has to be taken very seriously."

Crack cocaine is enormously addictive, giving the user a feeling of
euphoria which lasts only minutes, followed by a deep depression and paranoia.

Latest figures from the Home Office suggest many addicts spend about UKP
20,000 a year to fuel their habit.

A spokesperson for Turning Point, a drug support group based in Edinburgh,
said: "Up to this point the country has not handled its drugs situation
very well. For yet another drug to break on to the scene would be a
nightmare. Financially it cripples families and the criminal results can be
even worse. To stop 'coming down' users will resort to almost anything."

Police are alert to the threat of violence and the use of firearms in
connection with crack.

This development, say officers, could have a great impact on their
individual safety, as it appears that a greater number of drug dealers are
willing to use firearms.

In the recent raid on the Piershill estate, two high-powered air rifles
where found.

Coupland said: "We were not expecting to find arms and so we did not have
armed officers with us. Drugs and arms are never a good mixture.