Police recover samurai sword and £6k of drugs in crackdown

a major role in the shop receiving the award, is its focus on ethical wine producers.

Peter said: “I’ve always focused on family producers – you come into my shop and you won’t see the brands that you normally see on the shop shelves as these are independent brands.

“We really focus on smaller, familyrun producers, as well as smaller, ethical things.

“My goal is either to have a family-run company or, if it’s a co-operative, they have to be either bio-dynamic, a natural wine producer, vegan or sustainable – it has to have a sort of ethical element to it.”

Peter adapted his business to meet the demands of Covid-19 and the nationwide lockdown.

“My business was already prepared to just go to an entirely delivery-based model.

“It’s essentially what I set up seven years ago but it took a global pandemic to make it a reality.

“I have a lot of friends and associates that own small businesses and some of them really got hit hard, so we did our best to help them as much as we could.

“We were very much local at that point and that’s maybe what the judges saw.”

Three people have been charged in Dundee with drug offences as part of a nationwide crackdown on “county lines” gangs.

Police officers found a samurai sword, heroin, crack cocaine, tablets and cannabis worth more than £6,000 at addresses on Kinghorne Road and Canning Place in the city.

Two 30-year-old women and a 19-year-old man were arrested and charged with being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs.

Officers carried out the searches as part of a “national day of action” to tackle county lines drug distribution across Scotland.

The raids come after senior officers promised more local action to tackle violence in Lochee and Strathmartine.

Tayside Division Prevention Hub’s Sergeant Elise Wilson said the force was working with local people and other agencies to drive the threat out of city communities.

She said: “Tackling drug misuse is not just about the police putting doors in and executing warrants

– we must also address the wider issues that bring about drug abuse in the first place.

“We are clearly hearing from our local communities that illegal drug activity is not wanted or welcome here.

“We would like to thank the public for this support so far, and stress that we rely on information about suspicious behaviour to identify vulnerable victims as well as criminals.

“We can’t do this alone, and schools, health and social care services, charities and others have a critical role in helping us end this practice.”

County lines describes drug gangs from big cities expanding their operations into smaller towns, often using violence to drive out local dealers and exploiting young and vulnerable people to sell drugs.

Vulnerable individuals are forced to transport cash and drugs all over the country, so that the criminals behind them can remain detached and ultimately less likely to be caught, a police spokeswoman said.

Divisional commander Chief Superintendent Andrew Todd warned councillors last month about “serious and organised” crime groups operating in the city.

He warned of serious violence enforce drugs-related debts.

He said the force’s Violence Prevention Board was looking for further opportunities to reduce violence and drug related crime.

He also promised “action plans” to specifically target violence in the Strathmartine and Lochee areas of the city.

“We are clearly hearing from our local communities that illegal drug activity is not wanted or welcome here

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