Cops tackle 'open drug market'

2:22pm Wednesday 7th May 2008

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COPS put the "open drug market" in Wealdstone town centre under the spotlight during an operation to tackle the problem.

Harrow Police believe there is a serious drug problem in and around High Street, Wealdstone, with dealers selling illegal substances both day and night.

Detective Sergeant Stuart McKechnie described the situation as an "open drug market", with dealers operating from bus stops, street corners and alleyways around the town.

He led an operation on Tuesday with the aim of catching dealers in the act, and to try to deter others from selling drugs in the town centre.

Officers used the CCTV control room at Harrow Civic Centre, in Station Road, Harrow, to track potential suspects, relaying information to officers on the ground who were then able to stop and search individuals caught on camera.

One suspected drug dealer, a 22-year-old from Willesden, was arrested after he was found to be carrying a substance officers suspect may be cocaine.

Police made a further 13 stop and searches in Wealdstone during the six-hour crackdown on drug dealing.

Chief Inspector Louis Smith, who is in charge of intelligence at Harrow Police, believes a significant police presence at unpredictable times will help catch dealers unaware.

He said: "The idea is that drug dealers, when they are walking down the high street, see the CCTV cameras and wonder if we are watching them today.

"We will do these operations as and when we need and want to, when the time feels right."

This was the third police operation in the town in the space of a month, as police continue in their efforts to stamp out the drug problem by attacking it at the root.

In the first operation on April 9, Hamza Abdinoor, an unemployed 19-year-old of Byron Road, Wealdstone, was arrested and charged with possession with intent to supply cocaine and heroin.

Harrow Council has been helping the police as they run these operations by letting them use the bank of CCTV cameras, which cover the whole of Wealdstone town centre.

Councillor Susan Hall, deputy leader of the council, who owns a hairdressing salon in Wealdstone, is keen for the police to tackle the problem.

She said: "I have been there for nearly 30 years, and there's definitely a problem in the area, no doubt about it.

"We are absolutely determined to drive crime out, and this will be helped by operations like this, working together to tackle drug dealing head on.

"This will be helped by opening up the high street."