Sweet shop that offered more than a sugar rush
Man and woman arrested on suspicion of drugs offences as police seize jars of confectionery
A SWEET shop has been raided by police and its entire stock of confectionery seized amid fears it could be “contaminated by dangerous drugs”.
Durham Police, acting on information supplied from a member of the public, swooped on The Convenience Store in Park Road, in the village of South Moor, removing jars and boxes of sweets yesterday afternoon.
A quantity of a white powder, suspected to be amphetamine, was seized during the operation and officers removed all the confectionery to ensure any contaminated products did not end up in the possession of children. The police arrested a man aged 56 and a woman aged 50 on suspicion of drugs supply offences and both were taken to Durham City Police Station for questioning.
It is not known whether the shopkeepers were aware that there were drugs allegedly on their premises.
Items seized during the operation, which included large jars of yellow sherbet flying saucers, humbugs and gobstoppers, were being examined last night. In a number of photographs circulated by police yesterday, officers were seen carrying out large containers and stuffing them into the boot of a patrol car. The raid took place at lunchtime yesterday and the uniformed officers were supported by a dog team from the Cleveland and Durham Specialist Operations Unit.
A residential property in nearby Stanley was also searched. Officers there found a quantity of cannabis, along with drugs equipment and a large quantity of cash. Sgt Dave Clarke, of Stanley Police, who led the operation, said: “This is a shop which sold sweets to children.
“Families with children were regular customers at the premises, which is right in the heart of the village and straight opposite a nursery.
“We have confiscated the contents of the shop because we couldn’t take the risk that some of those loose sweets might become contaminated with a potentially dangerous substance.”
Sgt Clarke added: “Today’s operation shows that when the local community gives us information about the supply of drugs, then we will take decisive action. Hopefully, today’s operation will also have left local drug dealers with a sour taste in their mouths.”
On social media outlets, locals expressed their shock at the discovery and praised the police for their actions in uncovering the operation.
One wrote that it was “appalling” a sweet shop has been used for “vile” purposes.
Another added: “Absolutely disgusting – in a sweet shop. No wonder there were loads of people hanging around there to get their fix and then putting kids’ lives in danger.”
Others took a more light-hearted approach, with one joker writing: “I always wondered what the stuff in a Dib Dab was…”
‘When the community gives us information about the supply of drugs, we will take action’