Sixteen people were arrested yesterday in a series of raids as part of a major crackdown on gangs of crack and heroin dealers in Scotland.
Sixteen people were arrested yesterday in a series of raids as part of a major crackdown on gangs of crack and heroin dealers in Scotland.
About 100 officers from Lothian and Borders Police targeted more than 20 properties in Midlothian in the largest swoop carried out in that area by the force.
Police chiefs spent a year planning the operation in a bid to root out street dealers in and around Dalkeith, which was in the grip of "a serious drug problem".
Crack cocaine and heroin were seized, and officers hope that their efforts will eventually net about 30 people.
Chief Superintendent Terry Powell, who led the operation, said he believed it had made an "enormous" dent on the drugs supply in the area.
He said: "The most significant thing about the operation is that it is focused on Midlothian. It's a rural area outwith the city.
"In the past, operations of this nature, this scale and this complexity have all been city-based."
Mr Powell added that he was "exceptionally pleased" that officers managed to arrest eight out of the nine people they were targeting.
"We've got a number of seizures but we don't know exact amounts at the moment. One house in Dalkeith certainly had crack cocaine. We've certainly got £3000 in cash from one of the houses.
"It's gone as well as I could have expected. This is the culmination of over a year's work."
Details of the confidential initiative were kept under wraps until yesterday.
Officers were given their orders at a briefing at 5.30am, before heading out in a convoy of dozens of vehicles.
Occasional scuffles and shouts drew neighbours to look out of their windows at the street below, but the operation seemed quiet and undramatic to onlookers, with commuters working their way past police vans in the street.
One team entered a house simply by opening an unlocked door, allowing officers to increase the number of houses that they intended to raid from nine to 15.
Officers believe that they can present a good case to the procurator fiscal and were hopeful of "exceptional success" when the cases go before the courts.
Officers have also been working with local health professionals and action groups to focus on preventative work and diverting users off drugs. They believe more drug addicts will come to the fore when they begin to have difficulty getting supplies.
Mr Powell said he hoped yesterday's success would encourage members of the public to keep coming forward with information.
"We know there'll be others who'll be more than willing to take up the positions that are now vacant. What we want now is for people in the communities to tell us very quickly if they've got suspicions."
Police said later they had arrested 13 men and three women. Two of the women were aged 29 and one 23. The men arrested were aged between 18 and 38.
All are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court tomorrow in connection with being concerned in the supply of illegal drugs.
