The north-east’s most senior police officer, Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson, has revealed that organised English gangs are peddling drugs on town streets in the region.
In just eight months, detectives in Aberdeenshire and Moray have clawed back more than £2.7million from organised criminals and police chiefs have warned drug dealers there is “nowhere to hide”.
Cash and banned substances have also been recovered in a series of raids at homes in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Elgin and the number of drug pushers caught has increased dramatically.
Now Chief Sup Thomson has branded gangs from south of the border as a major threat to the safety of north-east communities.
He was quizzed by councillors at Woodhill House yesterday and told the assembled members that organised crime groups – particularly in the Buchan area – are “in the main English-based”.
He added: “Let’s make no bones about it, there are some very real challenges. English-based crime groups are operating in the area.
“They are only interested in themselves, in money, and in preying on vulnerable individuals.”
It is understood from sources in Fraserburgh that there is a strong connection with the Liverpool area in the supply of Class A drugs heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine.
Chief Sup Thomson – who explained that the arrival of hard drugs in the area could spark an increase in violence and housebreakings – added: “They are not welcome in Aberdeenshire.”
New figures have shown that, between April and December last year, the number of drug dealers who were caught rose significantly to 138, up from 89 in the same period in 2014.
The number of people in possession of illegal substances also rose.
The latest crackdown on the drugs trade is Operation Banook which was launched in October after concerns were raised by the local communities in Peterhead and Fraserburgh.
However, when pressed by councillors, Chief Sup Thomson stressed that the rising figures represented an increase in drug dealers caught by the force rather than a rise in the drug supply.