Operation Nemesis is living up to its name

AS OPERATION Nemesis continues to rack-up arrests, police chiefs are showing no signs of slowing down.

In fact, they are encouraging people who suspect illegal activity is going on in their neighbourhood to report it as soon as possible.

Superintendent Dave Mellor, from Stoke-on-Trent Division, said: "I would urge anyone with information about drugs to call Crimestoppers, or speak to their local neighbourhood officer.

"A call now could result in a drug dealer spending Christmas behind bars, all we need is the information."

Operation Nemesis was launched on September 13, 2007, with an army of 400 officers carrying out raids across Staffordshire and Cheshire. It followed more than 12 months of undercover work to gather evidence on the supply of drugs.

Two other headline arrest days, in November 2007 and January 2008, saw search warrants carried out across Stoke-on-Trent and the wider area, resulting in hundreds of arrests.

Countless more raids have been carried out in the more low-key work that goes on day-to-day.

As news of arrests and convictions keeps coming, Nemesis has become a household name across Stoke-on-Trent and further afield, and in May the force was presented with the Best Practice Against Street Level Dealing award at the Home Office's national Tackling Drugs Supply Conference and Awards.

Supt Mellor said: "Operation Nemesis is daily business for us in Stoke-on-Trent. We have been keeping the pressure on drug dealers since the launch of the operation in 2007.

"We get an awful lot of information from people living around houses they suspect are being used for criminal activity. Calls to Crimestoppers have risen significantly since Nemesis began.

"Once we have the information we respond by researching the information and gathering intelligence. Sometimes there's a need to be patient because it takes time to gather evidence, but we will respond with positive action."

One of this year's big operations saw officers from the force's serious and organised crime unit destroy 15 cannabis factories across the city throughout June. A total of 3,660 plants were recovered from eight houses, six commercial premises and one farm.

Outside of the undercover operation, the force has worked with others, including the Primary Care Trust and Stoke-on-Trent City Council, to make sure services were put in place to support drug users and encourage them into treatment as their supply vanished.

Training has been given to front-line workers, including police community support officers, housing officials and council workers, to support the communities affected by the use and supply of drugs.

Barrie Harrington is chairman of the residents' association in Normacot, one of the areas targeted in yesterday's action.

He said: "If you take drugs away you are going to take some of the related crime away too, and I would welcome what the police are doing."