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Police swoop on homes in crackdown on heroin

Adam Derbyshire
1/12/2004

POLICE smashed their way into 10 addresses as suspected of dealing in heroin.

The dawn raids, codenamed Acapulco, took place in Denton, Hyde and Dukinfield and were the result of months of painstaking detective work.

Ten people were arrested in the swoops and charged with supplying class A drugs to undercover officers.

Detective sergeant Roy Simpson, who led the operation, was delighted by the results.

He said: "The majority of heroin addicts fund their habit through burglary, robbery and car crime.

"It is an evil drug and the knock-on effect is incalculable.

"All the officers involved in the operation have worked extremely hard over the last few months. I am proud of what they have achieved."

Dozens of officers were drafted in to bring the operation to a dramatic climax in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The first wave of arrests took place three nights earlier in Dukinfield and Hyde.

Roads were sealed off while the raids were unleashed simultaneously at 5am.

Clad in body armour and helmets, police from the Tactical Aid Unit used battering rams to break down the doors.

Officers swarmed up the stairs and pounced on the suspects as they slept.

Within seconds, all the targets were handcuffed and taken away for questioning. Following a quick sweep of the homes, dog handler PC Roger Gault arrived to carry out a thorough search.

A large quantity of class A drugs, several thousand pounds in cash, and a machete were also recovered.

Help was available for local addicts the following day as drugs workers were sent on to the streets to offer advice and support.

Chief superintendent Kevin Mulligan said: "These are the first in a series of raids we will undertake in the future. It sends out a clear message to criminals in Tameside that we will not tolerate drug dealing on our streets."