THE WAR ON DRUGS
EK News joins police on raid
A drug squad smashed their way into an East Kilbride flat during an early morning raid sending out a clear message that drug crime will not be tolerated in our community.
The News joined East Kilbride police on their latest operation which resulted in a man and woman in their sixties being charged for possession of herbal cannabis.
Although the intended ‘subject’ of the raid, a 22-year-old man, was not found at the Westwood property, Sergeant James McCluskey this week hailed the operation a success.
Sgt McCluskey, who was leading last Wednesday’s operation, said the East Kilbride community has identified drug crime as a priority in the area and local officers are acting on it.
“When you’re doing these raids there are always highs and lows. Yes, you’re disappointed not to get the result you wanted but the positive is that you know the community are going to hear about it”, he said.
“Even if the East Kilbride News wasn’t there, people would still hear about the door going in which is going to have a good impact on the community. And if the subject continues to deal drugs, we will hear about it and target him again.”
Nine months on from the introduction of a new community policing model which put local bobbies back on the beat, cops have seen a “dramatic increase” in intelligence coming through from members of the community.
The police now deal with 100 calls a day – 150 on weekends – and the number of drug warrants being carried out has spiked in recent weeks which Sgt McCluskey insists has had a knock-on effect on alcohol and violence reduction in the town.
“The new community policing model has helped solve alcoholrelated and violent crime as well as drug crime”, he said.
“Members of the public are seeing familiar faces out on patrol and having the confidence to go up and speak to them. This has dramatically increased the intelligence we’re getting in about drug dealers in the area.”
A 43-year-old man was stopped by officers outside EK police station at around 2.30pm last Tuesday, February 6. It is claimed he was in possession of heroin with an estimated street value of £1000. He was charged in connection with alleged drugs offences and released on an undertaking to appear at Hamilton Sheriff Court at a later date. A report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.
Sgt McCluskey said: “One time we put a door in we knew the subject was dealing in large quantities of valium at the time.
“He ran to the toilet and, unfortunately for me, I had to check it. So the hand went down and I managed to get up the S-bend and he had pushed well over 1500 valium pills up there.
“That’s why we’re always keen to go in as quickly as we can and take control of the situation.
“A lot of these people are sitting there on edge all the time always waiting on the police to come through their door, they’re almost on the starting blocks.
“Some communities accept drug crime more than others but I think people in East Kilbride don’t want to accept it and that how we’ve had quite a few turns recently.”
Another detection since the new policing model came into force saw police uncover a cannabis cultivation worth tens of thousands of pounds at a local industrial unit.
Sophisticated equipment used in the supply of Class A drugs such as heroin, cocaine and ecstasy was also found.
Inspector Aidan Higgins said the discovery of an organised crime cell was a major result for the force and praised his officers for putting themselves in harms way to keep the community safe.
He said: “You never know what you’re going to get and you never know what people’s reaction is going to be.
“People will react badly. They run away, try to dispose of evidence or try to take the police on and they may have weapons – that’s when people can get hurt.
“There’s a lot of experience in this team. They do a very professional job and deliver a message to the people who are involved in the sale and supply of drugs in East Kilbride – the local community don’t want this and we’re listening and acting in relation to that.
“All the teams here are dedicated day in and day out to making communities safer.”
Urging people to report drug dealers in their neighbourhoods, Insp Higgins added: “If you live on a street where someone is selling drugs and there’s people coming and going at all times of the day and night, that’s unacceptable.
“It’s criminal and against the law and precisely what we need to be told about so we can act upon it.”
Contact police on 101.
We’re always keen to go in as quickly as we can and take control of the situation