Police hail £36k drugs raid from city-based gang

DETECTIVES seized £36,000 worth of drugs and £100,000 in cash in a string of raids targeting an organised crime gang based in Edinburgh.

Officers swooped on two addresses in the south and east of the Capital, while further raids were carried out at homes in Loanhead in Midlothian, Armadale in West Lothian and Shotts in Lanarkshire.

Heroin and amphetamine were among the drugs seized.

Police chiefs today hailed the success of the raids on Friday, adding that the force remained determined to pursue crime gangs operating in the city.

They also appealed to members of the public with information on drug dealing to get in touch with fresh tip-offs.

The force has stepped up their efforts on bringing down the estimated 35 organised crime gangs operating in Edinburgh. Much of the work has been carried out by the city's new Serious Organised Crime Unit (SOCU).

A police spokesman said: "Lothian and Borders Police is committed to tackling serious organised crime groups. We are determined to make sure that these groups are prevented from making profit at the expense of the law-abiding majority.

"To do this effectively it is essential that we have the support of the public, and at this time we would appeal to anyone who has any information about serious organised criminal groups to contact us."

The force has scored a number of successes in recent months targeting drug dealing gangs. Hundreds of cannabis plants worth 100,000 were seized by police after a raid on a flat in Parkgrove Street in Clermiston last Tuesday.

Last month, a 46-year-old man arrested and charged after 100,000 worth of cocaine was found in a car pulled over by road policing officers. Two kilogrammes of cocaine were found after a search of the vehicle stopped on the city bypass.

And on Friday, one of the Capital's biggest drug dealers, Mark Richardson, pled guilty at the High Court in Edinburgh to supplying cocaine.

A man and a woman, aged 31 and 27, have appeared in court in connection with alleged drugs offences in relation to Friday's operation.