POLICE in Alloa have drafted in a team of undercover officers to bolster a crackdown on antisocial behaviour and drug dealing.

Over the last two weeks teams of plain clothes officers have patrolled the town centre to disrupt loitering, shoplifters and people causing other issues.

The operation has so far yielded significant results, primarily the discovery of £5,000 worth of heroin from a flat on Maple Court last week.

Mark Murphy, community police inspector, told the Advertiser that the campaign was going well, and that it will continue.

He said: "We started it in response to concerns from locals and shopkeepers about the level of drug use and antisocial behaviour in the area.

"We have people from the violence reduction team who were out last week. They are part of the safer communities team, and they go into areas where there is a lot of drug use which can, in turn, lead to violence.

"On Thursday, we came across a house with drugs. The team spotted it, got a warrant which led to finding £5,000 of drugs.

"Numerous other persons were charged with drug possession, shoplifting and antisocial behaviour."

The Maple Court raid was a significant win for Insp Murphy and his team, with it being on the first day of the operation and in such a prominent position in the town centre.

A 28-year-old man and a 34-year-old woman were arrested following the bust and appeared at Alloa Sheriff Court on Friday morning.

Mark and the undercover team will not be stopping there, however, with further patrols planned in the coming weeks.

He continued: "If they [officers] see people in possession of drugs, or dealing drugs, then they will use their powers to arrest them. We have further patrols planned in the coming weeks.

"What we want to get out there is that this is in response to concerns raised by local residents and the people who work and visit the area."

In addition to the Alloa drug bust, there was also a significant discovery on Drip Road, Stirling, last Thursday.

Officers stopped a car in the Raploch area and discovered £61,000 of cocaine in the vehicle before finding a further 2.4kg of the Class A worth £193,000 at a property in the Hawthorn Crescent area.