Gloucester: Drugs seized after raids on fake shops

Class A and B drugs were found in the raid on Wednesday

Six shops suspected of being fronts for illegal drug dealing have been raided by police and two people have been arrested.

Officers say £3,500 of Class A drugs, £2,500 of Class B drugs and £30,000 of illegal tobacco were recovered in raids on Barton Street in Gloucester.

At one shop cannabis was found among bags of crisps which could be reached by children.

Gloucestershire Constabulary said the shops have been given closure orders.

Insp Marcus Forbes-George said information from the public led them to suspect the stores were not real

Insp Marcus Forbes-George led the operation and told BBC Points West that members of the local community had supplied information that made officers certain the stores were fronts for illegal operations.

"The stock and the setup within the stores would indicate it is a front for drug dealing activity," he said.

Insp Forbes-George said the stock and set up inside the stores indicated they were fronts for illegal activity

"We are an intelligence-led organisation and in order for us to support and conduct the activity we rely on the information provided by law-abiding citizens."

He added: "There's no place for drug dealing in Gloucestershire and we'll continue to target any known drug dealer."

One of the raided shops was keeping drugs in boxes of crisps.

The raid was part of a week-long police operation taking place across the South West of England focusing on tackling drug crime.

Gloucestershire's Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson, whose job it is to hold the county's police to account, felt the overall operation was proving to be successful.

"It's what the public want to see," he said.

"They're fed up with illegal drugs in their communities and the people of Barton and Tredworth don't want this.

"They've given the police intelligence and we're now acting on that intelligence."

The PCC admitted he would like more of these operations to take place: "This is what most police officers join for... to deal with offenders and keep people safe."

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