Dozens of suspected dealers have been arrested in a sweeping assault on the class A drugs trade in Leeds.
Homes across the north east Leeds area – from Chapeltown and Harehills to Lincoln Green – have been raided and searched in four days of action as part of Operation Sugarloaf.
Evidence supplied by members of the public had formed the basis of intelligence-gathering work going back five months.
About 60 police officers a day have been involved in the dawn arrests, which have led to 38 suspected dealers being taken into custody.
Large amounts of drugs, cash, mobile phones and other evidence believed to be connected to the supply of drugs including heroin and crack cocaine has been seized.
Chief Inspector Matt Davison, who leads neighbourhood policing in north east Leeds, said: “Drug dealing blights communities, from the organised crime that’s associated with those supplying drugs to the acquisitive crime often committed by those attempting to fund a habit.
“Tackling drug crime remains a high priority for us and the communities we serve.”
In a briefing at Millgarth Police Station in the city centre before yesterday’s raids, he told assembled officers the operation had been a “significant success”.
“There are some difficult individuals in the communities we are focusing on, but we know that the majority of people want to see the work we are doing being done,” he added.
The YEP joined one team of officers yesterday as they targeted a property on Vinery Grove in East End Park.
A 29-year-old man was arrested at the back-to-back terraced house on the quiet cul de sac.
Police also seized an estimated £6,000 in cash and took several items of clothing.
In other raids, £5,000 of suspected crack cocaine was seized from a house on Nowell Mount in Harehills and an imitation firearm was found during a follow-up visit at a property in Station Road, Kirkstall.