Charity praised for ‘exceptional’ results – after £300k of drugs taken off the streets

Dogs Against Drugs newest recruits pictured l-r, Bravo with handler Megan Grant, instructor Michael Coutts, and Hera with handler Hannah Anderson.  Photo: Dogs Against Drugs.

More than £300,000 worth of drugs have been taken off the streets of Shetland since the start of the year – including 500g of heroin at the weekend.

Chief inspector Stuart Clemenson has praised Dogs Against Drugs for helping to achieve the “exceptional” results.

Addressing the community safety and resilience board on Wednesday, Mr Clemenson said officers worked very closely with the charity – which had a huge impact on the flow of drugs into Shetland.

In the last six months, he said the charity had carried out 85 deployments at Sumburgh Airport and Holmsgarth Ferry Terminal – scanning nearly 3,500 people – as well as carrying out frequent visits to Lerwick Post Office.

During that period, Mr Clemenson said the dogs had intercepted 52 drug shipments with a total value of £160,000.

While some of these had been proactive operations undertaken by the charity, others were carried out in support of officers, acting on intelligence.

Mr Clemenson these included early morning raids where officers were “kicking down doors”.

“That’s what we do, that’s what we’re about and they’re here to help us,” he said.

Since the start of the year, the total value of drugs seized has reached £309,000.

Mr Clemenson said the “vast majority” had been taken from the ports before they reached the dealers on the streets. A further £29,000 of cash had also been seized.

The area commander said the charity’s work had been “exceptional” and “over and above” what could be expected.

The seizures included £63,000 worth of heroin at “wholesale” value.

Broken down into £10 bags, Mr Clemenson said the retail value would have been “hundreds of thousands” of pounds.

Cocaine valued at £15,000 had also been seized.

Mr Clemenson said it had become so difficult to get drugs into Shetland that dealers had to charge higher prices than elsewhere in Scotland.

Just last weekend, he said half a kilo of heroin, valued at £55,000, had been seized.

Board chairman Allison Duncan said the figures were “staggering” and seemed to be increasing all the time.

He questioned whether “affluence” played a part in this concerning trend.

“Absolutely,” said Mr Clemenson. “There’s a lot of money in Shetland, without a doubt, and a lot of cash from the people actively seeking out drugs.”

Mr Clemenson was cautious not to get into the “ins and outs” of who was buying the drugs having previously landed himself in “hot water” for singling out particular groups.

The chief inspector said the drugs also brought “a lot of antisocial behaviour and intimidation”.

He said the smugglers were also seeking out more innovative techniques – although some simply sent £10,000 worth of drugs in an envelope.

Shetland West councillor Liz Peterson asked whether any of the money seized was able to help fund the charity.

Mr Clemenson said it all went to the Scottish government to allocate.