Five people were arrested as police swooped on suspected drug dealers in a series of raids across Moray.
Officers from all over the north-east were involved in Operation Wittet – aimed at smashing a supply network with links to criminal gangs on Merseyside.
Two women and three men were reported to the procurator fiscal after being caught with “personal use” quantities of drugs during the raids on eight homes.
Heroin and cannabis were seized in the operation aimed at breaking up a supply link from Liverpool to Inverness – police believe some of yesterday’s targets have links to Merseyside.
A team of 25 officers from Elgin, Aberdeen and Fraserburgh took part in the crackdown.
Detective Inspector Stuart McAdam revealed intelligence received in the past few days led to warrants being granted for the raids.
He said: “On days like this we use disruption tactics to deter those travelling from England to this area to sell drugs.
“We’ve had a lot of success with that in the past where they will stay away for a number of months following us getting drug search warrants.
“We want this to send a clear message that we will not tolerate drug dealing here.”
Specialist undercover teams met for an early morning briefing and be given a list of targets.
Officers carefully planned their approaches to the properties to retain the element of surprise.
Wearing stab-proof vests, armed with battering rams and with sniffer spaniel Max in tow they hit three houses in quick succession.
Officers surrounded a ground floor flat in New Elgin’s Cockmuir Place in New Elgin and after the door had been knocked down they flooded the property and searched cupboards and drawers in every room.
Simultaneously, officers moved in on homes in Langstane Lane in Keith and Robertson Drive in New Elgin.
Police later turned their attention to a ground floor flat in Murdoch’s Wynd in Elgin.
Officers parked about 100 yards from the property and sprinted to the house to mask their approach.
They hit the front door repeatedly with a battering ram as the two people inside pleaded with them to stop, before eventually opening the door.
Two people were led away in handcuffs after the flat was searched.
Two women, aged 25 and 35, and three men, aged 36, 40 and 45, have been reported for possessing illegal drugs.
Moray area commander, Chief Inspector Stewart Mackie, said: “Since the start of the year Operation Wittet has really focussed on making Moray a hostile environment for the supply of controlled drugs.
“We’ve had quite a lot of success in being proactive in the area.
“Some of the ones we targeted today are based in Merseyside, although they can be found in other areas in the north-west of England.
“They’re only here to make money and exploit vulnerable people to get it.
“While on this occasion we have drawn on other resources, our local teams carry out warrants regularly and react as quickly as possible to intelligence.”
