Published: Wednesday, 22nd October, 2008 12:30
You can shop a drug dealer
By Iain Robertson
Print Article
Information from the public can help remove drugs from our streets.
Pic by: David Robertson
CLACKMANNANSHIRE’S citizens can help put an end to the activities of drug dealers – by shopping them to the police.
Communities throughout the Wee County have been blighted by the misery pedalled by local drug pushers.
So now the Advertiser has joined forces with Central Scotland Police in a bid to tackle this scourge on our society by encouraging readers to report any information about drug dealing in the area.
Intelligence Development Officer, Detective Constable Thomas Holden, told the Advertiser, “We are appealing to anyone in the community with concerns about drug activities in their neighbourhood to make us aware of it.
“We’re always looking for information from the public, so I hope this campaign will encourage people to come forward. We did something similar with the Advertiser a few of years ago and it was a success. Hopefully we’ll see similar results again.”
As in our previous campaign in 2005, we’re asking readers to complete the form printed in this week’s Advertiser and send it to the police, enabling them to gather additional information about dealers in the area.
Three years ago, information provided by Advertiser readers, together with intelligence gathered by police officers and from other sources, led to a number of drug raids and the arrest of several dealers.
The war on drugs continues to be a high priority for the Central Scotland force. Earlier this month, officers discovered a record haul of cocaine – worth a reported £750,000 – from a lorry.
Last year in Clackmannanshire, 111 drug warrants were executed by police officers, and a further 61 raids have been carried out in 2008.
These included raids in June, which were witnessed by the Advertiser.
Tip-offs from the public led to a raid on the home of a dealer who desperately tried to flush his stash of drugs down the toilet. Further information from local people led officers to uncover a ‘shooting gallery’ for junkies in Alloa, while more raids were carried out at the homes of suspected dealers in Tullibody, Sauchie and Tillicoultry.
Further successes were achieved in July, with officers recovering drugs valued in excess of £3000.
These operations all relied on the support of the public – and you can help the police to continue their drive to remove drug dealers from the Wee County.
However, it is important to stress that it takes time to gather sufficient evidence before a raid can take place, so please don’t expect a team of officers to immediately swoop on a suspected target on receipt of one of our forms.
Clackmannanshire Deputy Area Commander, Chief Inspector Brian Rennie, explained, “We don’t act on just one piece of information, no doors are smashed down on receiving one name – we check all the information we get to make sure it’s accurate, and that helps build a bigger picture of activity in the area.
“We are committed to taking action based upon information from the community.
“Members of the public need to know that when they pass information to us about suspected criminal activity, it could be a vital piece in the jigsaw we need to take action.”
Chief Inspector Rennie added, “Drug operations carried out by Central Scotland Police have focused on local issues and there are further operations in the pipeline where we will continue to take action against anyone who deals drugs in our communities.
“Police operations cannot be done without the help and support of the public.
“We rely on information being passed to us and the public can be assured that any information received by the police will be taken seriously and where drug dealers are operating then we will act on what we are told.”
If you have information about drug dealing in your neighbourhood, please complete the form in this week's paper and send it to DS Charles Mitchell or DC Thomas Holden at Alloa Police Station.
Please include your name and contact details which are required to validate the information supplied. Your details will remain strictly confidential.
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