Man charged after Police drug raid
Police officers forced down the door of the property in Cambridge - Credit: Archant
The Hunts Post joined Cambridgeshire police today (Tuesday) as officers carried out raids in support of an operation cracking down on drug dealers from London.
Police inside the house that was raided. - Credit: Archant
A man has been charged following a drugs warrant in Staffordshire Street, Cambridge.
Gary Akister, 19, of no fixed abode has been charged with two counts of possession with intent to supply a class A drug. He was due to appear at Peterborough Magistrates Court today.
A 27-year-old woman from Cambridge was arrested on suspicion of permitting drug misuse in a premises she occupied. She was taken to Parkside Police Station and later released under investigation.
The raid was part of an operation known as County Lines, which aims to stop London drug dealers moving into homes in Cambridgeshire and using the premises to deal heroin and cocaine.
Sergeant Paul Street at the scene. - Credit: Archant
Gangs are known to use children and vulnerable people to move drugs and money through smaller locations.
The drug dealers will usually use weapons and firearms to intimidate and control victims, allowing them to move into an area and sell drugs across rural areas.
Most Read
- 1 Cambridgeshire zoo 'devastated' following death of white Bengal tiger
- 2 EastEnders star Adam Woodyatt ‘to work at restaurant in Cambridgeshire’
- 3 Breakup and burglary! Couple's chaos after £101m win on Euromillions
- 4 Public meeting to discuss Luton aircraft stacking system
- 5 St Neots Street Food Fest promises to be "bigger and better"
- 6 Find out what's happening in Huntingdonshire for the Queen's Jubilee?
- 7 Can you answer these 10 GCSE questions designed for 16-year-olds?
- 8 East West Rail host public event to discuss controversial project
- 9 MBR Acres releases image of graffiti message
- 10 'We must urgently plan to produce more food'
The co-ordinated series of raids took place at addresses across Cambridgeshire, including in Cambridge, where a property was raided this morning (Tuesday) shortly after 9am.
Police suspected those living at the address of ‘cuckooing’ a term that is used to describe drug dealers who take over venerable people’s homes in order to sell drugs.
A stop and search took place outside the property. - Credit: Archant
A team of seven officers were involved in the raid, with two officers breaking down the door, before three other officers ran upstairs to make the arrests. Two other officers stood waiting at a rear entrance to the property.
Two large knives were also found in the raid, along with what officers believe are class A drugs.
Sergeant Paul Street said: “County Lines is becoming a bigger issue in Cambridge and we are doing our very best to target it.
“The long and short of it is we are not going to tolerate the supply of drugs in Cambridge and we are going to be raiding addresses all over the city to make sure that we can deal with the issues that are coming into Cambridgeshire.”
