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Drug raid nets £30k of cocaine
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| Officer in charge Pc Steve Mather |
A shoebox left on the arm of a sofa contained the largest amount of class A drugs ever seized in one go in Oxford.
Police raided a one-bedroom flat in Gibbs Crescent, in the west of the city, at about 11am yesterday following a tip-off it was being used for drug-dealing.
After smashing their way into the second-floor flat, police initially found traces of cocaine and cannabis, before £30,000-worth of cocaine was found in the shoebox.
More cocaine was found on a dinner plate under the sofa, which appeared to be in the process of being sorted into individual deals.
No-one was inside the flat and police were last night searching for a suspect.
Pc Steve Mather, officer in charge of the raid, said it came about as a result of local intelligence.
He added: "Our search found a plate under the sofa with a razor blade and large amount of cocaine, some of which had been cut down for deals. Then, on the sofa, was a shoebox filled with a significant amount of cocaine.
"There had been no major attempts to conceal any- thing.
"This will have a big impact for the local community both by stopping a large amount drugs getting on to the streets and reducing the amount of crime in the area which fund drug habits.
"This has always been an area where drugs have been supplied and used.
"We are a little disappointed we haven't arrested anyone yet but will be doing everything we can to find and arrest who is respon- sible."
The cocaine was split into packs each weighing around one ounce, worth a total of between £25,000 and £30,000.
It could be worth even more when split into individual street deals.
Police also found a bag containing about £7,000 in £10 and £20 notes.
Pc Leigh Thompson, county drugs coordinator, said: "This is an extremely significant find. This is a large amount of cocaine - the biggest ever recorded in the city - which was ready to be cut up and dealt. We have taken out a significant amount of drugs which were going to hit the streets."
The raid was carried out during a day of action by police across the city to mark National Tackling Drugs Week, a Home Office initiative to show the public how the police are combating illegal drugs.
Neighbours commended the police for the raid. They described the tenant as a polite man in his 20s who often walked his dog.
A 20-year-old woman, who asked not to be named, said: "I am pleased they are taking this action against drugs. It is a bit scary seeing the police raiding the flat.
"But there are a lot of criminals and drugs here. It can be horrible."
A 39-year-old man said: "I am very pleased. Cocaine is not nice and I'm happy they are trying to stamp it out."
Anyone with information, should call police on 08458 505505.
6:25am Thursday 22nd May 2008
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CommentPosted by: brian, oxford on 3:12pm Thu 22 May 08
dispite all that is said west oxford isn't all its [italic]cracked[/italic] up to be. its going to [italic]pot[/italic]
dispite all that is said west oxford isn't all its
cracked up to be. its going to
pot Posted by: Calidore, Jericho on 8:29pm Thu 22 May 08
I don't see why drugs should be illegal and as far as it goes my information for the police is that they are wasting their time.
I don't see why drugs should be illegal and as far as it goes my information for the police is that they are wasting their time.
Posted by: Chris Bangham on 12:07am Fri 23 May 08
[quote][bold]Calidore[/bold] wrote:
I don't see why drugs should be illegal and as far as it goes my information for the police is that they are wasting their time.[/quote] I felt the same way when they found all that illegal stuff on my C drive.
Calidore wrote:
I don't see why drugs should be illegal and as far as it goes my information for the police is that they are wasting their time.
I felt the same way when they found all that illegal stuff on my C drive.
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