Morning raids take drugs out of the system
EMYLIE HOWIE
Hundreds of valium tablets, several kilogrammes of herbal cannabis and a quantity of heroin were seized in Cambuslang following police raids last week.
Officers carried out early morning operations at Kyle Court on Thursday and at a property in Whitlawburn in the early hours of Friday morning.
The raids came as Police Scotland seized more than £25millon of controlled drugs in targeted operations across the country.
Our reporter, Emylie Howie watched early on Friday morning as officers from the local problem solving team forced open the front door of a property on Staffa Road.
The team had been granted a sheriff’s search warrant for the property following an intelligence gathering exercise.
Following a briefing in the muster room at Rutherglen police office, the team was deployed to the property in three vehicles.
A total of eight officers quietly climbed the stairs then, once at the identified property, quickly smashed the door with a battering ram and entered.
Cannabis resin was found inside and a 33-year-old man was subsequently charged and a report submitted to the Procurator Fiscal.
As a result of the previous day’s raid at Kyle Court, another two males, aged 25 and 41, have also been reported to the Procurator Fiscal, also under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Sergeant Scott Hunter said: “The searches were carried out following a significant amount of intelligence being gathered by the local problem solving team.
“Reducing harm caused by substance misuse is a divisional and national priority and conducting such searches is essential for disrupting criminality and the availability of controlled drugs in the area.
“These searches are examples of the kind of police activity taking place regularly and as well as resulting in the seizure of controlled drugs it also serves as a reminder to those involved in drug dealing that police will proactively target them.
“Involvement in the misuse and supply of drugs inevitably leads to other crimes, such as disorder and acquisitive crime, and I would encourage anyone who is aware of such activity to contact police on 101 or via crimestoppers.”
Rutherglen MP Margaret Ferrier thanked the officers for helping to keep communities safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.
She said: “The police are doing an incredible job in the most challenging of circumstances and I thank them for the work that they do every day to protect the public.
“Serious crime has not stopped during the pandemic and the police’s efforts are vital in cutting off supplies of drugs in our communities and bringing an end to the abject misery that dealers inflict on people’s lives.
“During lockdown, the solidarity that the public have shown in looking out for each other and in complying with the rules has been outstanding.
“As restrictions start to ease and we return to a new normal in our lives, that solidarity in supporting the police to tackle crime will become even more crucial in the weeks and months ahead.”