A SUSPECTED crack den could be closed down for good after police raided two addresses in Toothill last week and uncovered Class A drugs, cash and a number of sim cards.

On Sunday, August 10, two teams of officers conducted warrants in Edington Close and Ely Close in Toothill, and arrested three men, aged 29, 51, and 54, on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

Police believe the home in Edington Close is regularly being used as a crack den and are seeking powers in conjunction with Swindon Council to carry out a crack house closure and board up the property.

Along with quantities of cannabis, crack cocaine and heroin, officers seized more than £1,000 in cash and a number of mobile phones and sim cards, which are currently being investigated.

PC Steve Yeates, beat manager for West Swindon, said: “Swindon officers carried out warrants at an address at Edington Close. Simultaneously another address was visited in Ely Close.

“No arrests were made following a search of the property at Ely Close, but our officers at Edington Close located four people and arrested three males on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs.

“They were a 54-year-old, a 29-year-old and a 51-year-old. They have all been bailed until October pending further enquiries, and the investigation is ongoing.

“Officers seized a quantity of digital media from the address, along with what we believe to be Class A drugs and £1,305 in cash. In total we seized five mobile phones, a tablet computer and seven sim cards.

“Digital media, especially these days, carries a trace of everything. If you send a text messge or WhatsApp and delete it straight afterwards there will still be a trace of that stored on your phone.”

PC Yeates said that cracking down on drug dens is vital due to the knock-on effect to the local community.

“At the address we got an amount of cannabis and what we believe to be crack cocaine and heroin,” he said. “The reason why people are concerned about Class A drugs is acquistive crime in that area will go up. This address was particularly messy and appeared to me as a drugs den for the use of Class A substances.

“We have already taken steps to see whether it might be appropriate to shut the property down using a crack house closure, and this is an address we are going to be looking at a lot in the future. We do not know how many people might be using that address, and those people may be committing acquisitive crimes in the local area. Closing that address down may have a dramatic impact in the locality.

“We are now working with the borough towards a crack house closure, but there may be other methods we can use. This was a combination of police intelligence and community intelligence, and the persons arrested were already known to police.

“We were successful in court this week to have a cash seizure, and when you start taking people’s money that can have a bigger impact than any other measure.

“Anyone with information about drug dealing is going to be welcomed and that information acted upon. Something like this will affect quality of life in the area.”

  • Anyone with any information relating to drugs in their area should contact their neighbourhood policing team through non-emergency number 101, or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.