Pubdate: Fri, 25 May 2007
Source: Press, The (York, UK)
Copyright: 2007 Newsquest Media Group
Contact:  http://www.yorkpress.co.uk
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3111
Author: Stephen Lewis and Charlotte Percival
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/raids.htm (Drug Raids)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/heroin.htm (Heroin)

THE HUMAN COST OF DRUGS

After the success of this week's dawn drug raids in York, STEPHEN 
LEWIS and CHARLOTTE PERCIVAL reflect on the results.

THERE is no doubt that police in York are delighted with the success 
of their raids aimed at suspected drug dealers this week.

During operations on Monday and Wednesday, teams of officers 
accompanied by sniffer dogs targeted properties across the city for dawn raids.

Substantial quantities of drugs - including heroin and crack cocaine 
- - were seized, and 15 people were arrested.

The raids, codenamed Operation Holland, were the result of months of 
intelligence-gathering by North Yorkshire Police.

Officers hope they have disrupted established drugs supply networks 
and sent out a clear message to the city's drug dealers: there is no 
place to hide.

Operation Holland also sent out a message to the wider York 
community, says Acting Insp Vicky Burton, who was in charge of 
Wednesday's raids in Acomb, Clifton, Dringhouses and the Leeman Road 
area of York.

"We think it is good for the community to see that we are not sitting 
back," she said. "It is intelligence which the public has provided 
that has in part enabled us to do this."

The suspects arrested are likely to be charged with a series of 
offences, from conspiracy to supply controlled drugs to possession 
with intent to supply.

But while the raids may mean dealers will be keeping their heads low 
for a while, no one - especially not the police - thinks for a moment 
that the war on drugs has been won.

Drugs of all descriptions are readily available in York, if you know 
where to go, Insp Burton admitted.

She does not want to exaggerate the scale of the problem, she says. 
"But York is no different to any other city. There are drug dealers, 
and if you know the places to go, drugs are available."

That will continue to be the case, despite this week's successes.

Operation Holland was the largest drugs operation in York for at 
least five years. But it was part of an on-going process, Insp Burton 
said: one designed to manage the drugs problem, even if it can't 
eliminate it altogether.

"The issue we have is that if we don't keep on targeting drug 
dealers, it can spiral out of control," Insp Burton said.

"It is something that has to be an on-going target, otherwise it will 
increase. We only have to take our eye off the ball for a couple of 
months and it will creep up."

Police are determined that will not be allowed to happen. Drugs have 
a devastating impact on people who use them, and on their families 
and friends, Insp Burton says.

But they affect all of us: even those who have never come into 
contact with them.

Drug addicts need to pay for them, Insp Burton said. "Unless they are 
in employment, which the majority of them are not, then the only way 
they can find that money is through committing crime."

That means burglaries, car break-ins, thefts of bikes and satnavs, 
which can be sold on by addicts to feed their habit. "So if you're 
burgled, or your car is broken into, there is a high chance that it 
is being sold on to feed someone's drug habit," Insp Burton said. 
"Alternatively, some dealers will accept property in exchange for drugs."

Even if you haven't been a victim of crime directly, you still suffer 
from the illegal drugs trade, she added; drug-related crime helps to 
push up insurance premiums.

That is why police are keen for people to come forward with 
information that may help in their continuing war on drugs.

Any information can help police build up a picture of what is going 
on - and build their case against suspects.

Sometimes it may seem that police do not act on the information 
given, she said. But that is not true.

This week's raids were the result of information that had been 
gathered over many months. That seemingly trivial piece of 
information that someone gave months ago may have made all the 
difference: and may have resulted with a dealer waking up this week 
to the sound of his door being battered in by police.

It is not only information about suspected dealers that police need, 
however. They are also desperate to crack down on the "fences" - 
criminals who handle stolen property.

They are a vital link in the drugs trade, Insp Burton said, because 
it is they who allow desperate addicts to get their hands on the 
money that feeds their addiction, money that ultimately ends up in 
the hands of dealers.

Cut out the fence, Insp Burton said, and you starve the dealers of 
cash. "It makes it much more difficult for the drugs users and 
dealers to get their hands on currency."

* You can pass on information to North Yorkshire Police in confidence 
by calling 0845 6060247, or else by using the Crimestoppers number: 
0800 555 111.

[sidebar]

HOW HEROIN TURNS DECENT PEOPLE INTO THIEVES

A DRUG like heroin can turn a perfectly decent person into a 
thieving, lying wreck who is driven by only one thing: the desperate 
craving for the next hit to relieve the pain.

Anybody can become an addict, says Acting Insp Vicky Burton, of York 
Police. "We see people from all walks of life. Some people may have 
had a very good job or have been happily married."

People may start taking drugs for a variety of reasons. They may 
simply fall in with the wrong people, Insp Burton said. Or they may 
have suffered a death in the family, or have gone through a painful 
divorce, and turned to drugs for release.

The first sign that an addiction is starting to grip is often that 
someone loses their job. Heroin is essentially a painkiller: it 
leaves users feeling very calm for a while. But it also makes their 
lives chaotic, Insp Burton said. "They are driven by the craving for 
the next hit, which is overwhelming them."

Unable to hold down a job, they turn to crime to feed their habit. 
They tell lies, and may try to sponge off family and friends, putting 
huge strains on family relationships. They often end up living in 
squalid conditions.

People who don't understand the nature of addiction often think why 
don't they just stop', says Kevin Curran, a York film-maker and youth 
worker who has worked with addicts.

But the physical pain caused by craving, and the psychological effect 
of the drug, make that hugely difficult.

Often, addicts have little hope, he said. And since heroin is a 
painkiller, it is easier to drown out the pain of their lives with 
the next hit than face up to their situation. One of Kevin's films - 
Stranded: On Cloud Nine - followed three York heroin addicts 
struggling to cope with their addiction.

Afghan barons no longer in control of the poppy fields SO how do 
illegal drugs find their way into the UK?

Both crack cocaine and heroin are available relatively cheaply in York.

Crack can be bought for as little as UKP10 a wrap.

The same amount of money will get you 0.2mg of heroin. To the 
uninitiated, that may not sound like much. But it would be enough for 
two or three hits, says Insp Burton - or a single hit for a hardened drug user.

Such low prices may tempt people to experiment. They can then get 
drawn into a vicious cycle of addiction.

One of the reasons for the low cost of heroin may be the problems in 
Afghanistan.

Much of the opium which makes its way into the heroin that floods 
Europe is grown in Afghanistan. In the past, crime overlords in that 
country kept tight controls on the amount of opium grown, so as to 
keep prices high, said Insp Burton.

Because of the recent troubles in Afghanistan, crime bosses have been 
unable to keep such a tight lid on the amount of opium grown.

The result is that farmers are being allowed to grow a lot more. The 
Afghan farmers sell to traders, who are believed to include Taliban 
leaders as well as Afghan, Iranian and Pakistani traders.

Traffickers use routes through Iran and the Balkans to get the drug 
to Europe - and sometimes travel through the old Soviet republics of 
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and through Russia.

Drugs are smuggled into this country by boat or by using drugs 
"mules" on chartered flights.

[sidebars]

HEROIN

Heroin is a natural opiate made from morphine. It is highly addictive 
and a very strong painkiller.

It comes as a white powder when it is pure, but street heroin can be 
anything from brownish white to brown.

It can be smoked, dissolved in water and injected or snorted. Heroin 
slows down body functioning and reduces physical and psychological 
pain. Most users get a rush a few minutes after taking it and 
feelings of warmth, well-being, sleepiness and relaxation. Overdoses 
can lead to coma and even death from respiratory failure, while 
injecting heroin can seriously damage your veins. Sharing needles can 
also put you in danger of infections like hepatitis B or C and HIV/AIDS.

COCAINE

COCAINE powder, freebase and crack are all forms of cocaine; 
stimulants with powerful, but short-lived, effects.

Coke is a white powder that is usually divided into lines and snorted 
up the nose. Crack cocaine is made into lumps or rocks and is usually 
smoked in a pipe, glass tube, plastic bottle or in foil. Both forms 
can be prepared to make a solution for injecting.

Stimulants temporarily speed up the processes of your mind and body 
and taking cocaine makes users feel wide-awake and confident. It can 
raise the body's temperature, make the heart beat faster and stave 
off feelings of hunger.

Risks can include flu-like feelings, depression and anxiety and 
overdose, which can raise the body's temperature, cause convulsions 
and respiratory or heart failure.

Injection can cause vein damage, ulcers and gangrene. 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake