UPDATE:- Two men have been arrested and charged in connection with alleged drugs offences in the Calders area of Edinburgh following enforcement action by Lothian and Borders Police this morning.
The men, aged 51 and 33, are due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court tomorrow in connection with offences relating to supply and possession.
Two men have been detained in connection with alleged drugs offences this morning after more than seventy Lothian and Borders police officers targetted five addresses in the Calders area of the city, all part of Operation Cipher which was launched yesterday.
It is believed that heroin, cannabis resin, a cannabis cultivation and some stolen property have been recovered from some of the properties visited during the early morning action.
A 33 year-old and a 51 year-old have been detained.
The Reporter had been invited along with Lothian and Borders Police this morning to observe their action against suspected drug dealers. It took just under five minutes from the time the police vans parked up outside to the police officers gaining entry to the target property. The number of police officers in the area caused some local attention, and is the kind of action that the police claim is exactly what local residents have been asking for.
Months of planning and intelligence lay behind this morning’s operation. The reasoning behind the enforcement action is to show the local residents that the police will take action against anyone who is suspected of drugs or other offences, all in an effort to make the area a safer place to live.
With the advance knowledge that there might be as many as four aggressive dogs in one of the properties, there were dog handlers standing by to catch the dogs and put them in a safe room to await collection by the dog wardens later to take them into care.
Inspector Irene Ralston was in charge of the operation today and she said:-” This is a big part of the multi agency initiative launched yesterday. We want people to feel more comfortable about contacting us in the future. We are trying to be pro-active and send out a strong and clear message to everyone in the area that we are prepared to act on intelligence. Drug dealing blights the whole community and we want people to know that it is unacceptable.”
Chief Inspector Richard Thomas said:-“Following yesterday’s launch of Operation Cipher, when we were pleased to see lots of interest from schoolchildren and others from the area, these raids were a follow-up. We want people to know that we are serious about improving the quality of life in the Calders by dealing with those involved with drugs or indeed other criminals who have a negative impact on other residents. We would invited people to help us with our questionnaire which they will find online, and engage with us, either by contacting me or any other police officer, or by contacting Crimestoppers anonymously.”
You will find Chief Inspector Thomas’s blog here . You may contact him by email here pentlandschiefinspector@lbp.pnn.police.uk You may access the questionnaire here, and you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or on their website.
Further to the raids this morning the police plan to hand out leaflets encouraging anyone affected by drugs or alcohol misuse to contact them or representatives from NHS Lothian in the area.
Another significant part of Operation Cipher is to target anti-social behaviour including dog fouling and one of the police dog handlers took the time to explain to a dog owner the importance of picking up after his dog. On being told that he did not have anything to put it in the police officer was able to provide one to the owner from his back pocket.
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