POLICE have allegedly seized around £30,000 of drugs after a series of raids in Irvine last week.

Shortly after 8am on Friday, September 16, officers forced entry to two properties in the town, acting on information gained and in possession of a search warrant. 

At the first address, in Herbertson Crescent, a 31-year-old man was arrested following the recovery of a substantial quantity of alleged class A and B drugs.

In George Terrace, a 20-year-old man was reported to the Procurator Fiscal for alleged possession of a controlled drug. 

Chief Inspector Brian Shaw, Area Commander in North Ayrshire, expressed his satisfaction with the success of the early morning raids. He said: “I’m very pleased. Our communities tell us that drugs and the misuse of drugs is the big issue for them. 

“So we’re delighted that, with the locality teams we have in place now, we’re able to develop intelligence locally to allow us to take action against people dealing drugs, or that we think are dealing in drugs. It’s important to us because of the damage that it does to communities”.

Irvine Times:

On Tuesday, September 13 two men were arrested over alleged possession of £6,500 worth of cocaine and heroin in Pladda Court. 

Chief Inspector Shaw explained the raids on Friday built on work carried out earlier last week.

 He added: “Police have searched three properties in Irvine and arrested three people for alleged offences relating to the supply or misuse of controlled drugs.

“This is in direct response to concerns raised by local people and those who have already completed the survey which identified drug misuse as a top priority for policing in the town.

“I would encourage anyone with concerns about crime in their area to complete the short survey and contact their local policing team - together we can make Ayrshire a safer place to live, work and visit.”

Police Scotland can be contacted by calling 101 (in an emergency always dial 999). Information can also be passed via the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 where anonymity can be maintained.

To have your say on local policing visit the Your View Counts area of the Police Scotland website at: http://www.scotland.police.uk/about-us/decision-making/public-consultation/local-policing-consultation

Following the introduction of locality teams to the area, Ayrshire Police Division hope members of the public come forward if they have any suspicions of illegal drug-related activities. 

Chief Inspector Tim Ross, Director of Community Safety in North Ayrshire, spoke positively about the impact the new teams can have. 

He said: “We’re able to really look and focus in on a problem solving approach in local areas, working with the community, working with other partners, so it’s perhaps given us the opportunity to develop intelligence a bit more. 

Irvine Times:

“But we would still encourage the public where they see things that they are concerned about, when they have issues of suspected drug dealing going on - even if it is only suspicions, please do phone us, whether it’s through Crimestoppers, though 101, whether it’s through stopping your local community officer in the street and speaking to them.

"The more information we have, the better. Sometimes it takes time, and I get that that can be frustrating for people, because we have to develop a good enough picture that allows us to get warrants. But the more information that we have the better.”

Chief Inspector Ross highlighted the importance of building up good, working relationships between members of the community and the teams.

He said: “I hope that people in communities around the whole of North Ayrshire are getting to know their locality teams, who are there working with others to try and improve lives in the area.

"And they should feel confident about coming forward and giving us information that allows us to take action.

“We all know the damage that drugs do. We work very closely with the alcohol and drugs partnership which has the vision of preventing harm and promoting recovery. We share those aspirations.

"We’d far rather that we didn’t have to go crashing people’s doors to stop drugs crime.

"That’s where we are just now, we will do that, but prevention is the real key here. So the more we can do to prevent future drug crime the better.”