‘Major players’ arrested after drug operation

Arrests have been made following a police operation to catch rival gangs of London drug dealers operating in Haverhill.

A gang of London drug dealers allegedly gate crashed a party at a house on the Clements Estate overnight between Friday, August 29 and Saturday, August 30.

“The party was no trouble at all,” said Inspector Peter Ferrie of Haverhill Police. “Then some people gate crashed that party.

“They allegedly carried out several knife point robberies.

“The people with the knives then left the party with a girl. There’s an allegation that a serious assault took place at a house nearby.

“A rival gang, also armed with knives, then arrived at the party looking for the first group.

“Police were called to the party. A male has been arrested and bailed and a decent quantity of class A drugs was seized.”

It is alleged the two groups are rival drug dealing gangs from London. A covert operation involving Haverhill officers and a drug dog began on September 4 against one of the groups of dealers.

“We’ve identified three major players,” said Insp Ferrie. “Two have been arrested and one is in our sights. We’ve also arrested some lower level dealers and have confiscated a lot of drugs. We’ve not cracked it but we’ve recovered a lot of drugs.

“Having London dealers in town raises obvious fears for me for the safety of our young people in Haverhill, particularly those who might be vulnerable to being influenced by these sorts of people.

“Haverhill police have already begun the crucial work of ridding us of this new menace, however we need help from the public to help us do this before they really take root in town.

Anyone with any information should contact police on 101 or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.