Police seize illegal drugs worth over £10,000
Thursday, 27 November 2008
by Karen McPhilemy.
IN TWO separate drug raids in the Omagh district at the weekend, over £10,000 worth of illegal substances were seized by the PSNI.
The biggest haul was seized on Sunday morning, following what police describe as a planned search of a property at Deverney Park on the outskirts of the town.
During the raid police seized suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of around £9,500. A number of suspected ecstasy tablets and a small quantity of cannabis resin were also recovered. In the wake of the seizure, police confirmed that a 29-year-old man was arrested, and was later released on police bail.
And in an earlier drugs raid in Fintona, police seized cannabis resin with an estimated street value of £1,300 during a search on Friday evening.
More than 260 grammes of the illegal drug were seized in the search at Ashfield Gardens and two arrests were made.
Police have said a 20-year-old man was charged in connection with the find and is expected to appear at Omagh Court on December 16. A 16-year-old youth was also charged and is to appear at Omagh Youth Court on December 17.
Commending the PSNI for their action in the drugs haul, West Tyrone MLA and Policing Board member, Tom Buchanan, said: "I want to commend the actions of the PSNI in their drugs raid in Omagh over the weekend. Like every other town across Northern Ireland, Omagh has a major problem with drug dealers who are making huge amounts of money on the back of vulnerable young people. Illegal drug activity is an issue that must be stamped out across the entire district and the whole community must throw their weight behind the police in their attempts to get this situation under control.
“There are people who could pass information onto the police and these steps are vital in stemming this destructive operation, as the victims of drug dealers are the vulnerable young people who are risking their lives by taking these drugs.
“Every effort must be made to stop this activity immediately and the police need our support to bring this about. I trust the recent drugs raid and subsequent arrest in Omagh will go some way to foiling the efforts of drug dealers and will get these drugs off our streets."
Also praising the police for their efforts, local district councillor and GP, Dr Josephine Deehan, said: "I strongly welcome the seizure of drugs and pay tribute to the PSNI for their good work in making the seizures.
“As a GP and a public representative, I have a lot of concern regarding increased use of drugs in our society. A message needs to go out loud and clear to those people distributing drugs in our society, that we are going to root them out. We need to let them know that this is not acceptable in our society and we won't put up with it."
