Kilwinning raid heralds new blitz on crime

Jun 12 2009 by Eric McGowan, Irvine Herald

A DRAMATIC dawn drugs raid at a house in Kilwinning kicked off a major crime crackdown involving over 250 cops on Friday.

The early morning swoop came right at the start of Operation Fleet which led to drugs with a street value of over £10,000 being seized across North Ayrshire.

Two men were reported to the procurator fiscal for the supply of cocaine and cannabis following the Kilwinning raid and cops are hunting another man in the Garnock Valley area for the supply of amphetamine worth £10,300.

Across the four towns, 13 arrests were made and 33 warrants executed as police got tough on violence, disorder and anti-social behaviour.

Superintendent Stephen McGrath, of Irvine police, said: “Our intention was to prevent crimes and incidents from occurring. I think the results speak volumes.”

The massive operation saw police team up with Trading Standards officers, British Transport Police and the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency.

In Irvine, cops on horseback, the dog branch, high visibility uniformed police and plain clothes officers patrolled the streets on foot and on cycle patrols visiting parks, underpasses and shopping areas.

Figures show two men were arrested for possession of knives, one man arrested for robbery and 11 men reported for drug offences.

Officers carried out 188 stop and searches and 65 visits were made to licensed premises to ensure compliance with Licensing Law.

Cops said 11 fixed penalty notices were issued for anti-social behaviour and 15 litres of alcohol were seized.

The Road Policing unit carried out Automated Number Plate Recognition checks at various sites enforcing speed limits and targeting other driving and criminal offences.

A total of 12 people were reported for a variety of road traffic offences, 94 conditional offers were issued and 10 vehicles were seized. Three individuals were reported for benefit fraud.

The newly formed Domestic Abuse Task Force carried out 27 curfew and domestic bail checks. Reassurance visits were also made by officers to provide support to vulnerable victims of crime.

Superintendent McGrath added: “Operation Fleet was a huge success and I am extremely grateful for the continued support from our partner agencies.

“Public reassurance is at the heart of our approach and throughout the day and night, we worked together closely to make communities safer by proactively addressing issues identified as priorities by local residents – violence, drugs, domestic abuse, anti-social behaviour and speeding.”