POLICE say they delivered a massive blow to the supply of amphetamine in east Cleveland after finding 3kg of the drug buried in a suspected dealer's garden.

Officers carried out a number of co-ordinated raids across the Redcar and Cleveland borough yesterday, netting a quantity of drugs, cash and drug paraphernalia.

The most significant find was in the garden of a house in Kent Close, Redcar, where officers discovered the cache of drugs with a street value of £30,000.

The arrival of 35 officers smashing their way into two homes in the quadrangle of properties in The Meadows, Redcar, was met with a mixture or relief and disdain from local people.

One mother grabbed her toddler and reassured her saying: "It's okay, it's just the police raiding dealers' houses.

"At least we will get some peace and quiet for a couple of days."

A gang of youths soon congregated at the entrance of the square, shouting encouragement to people in the raided houses.

To take down the dealers' security measures and ensure a successful operation, officers used a disguised removals van to enter The Meadows without being spotted.

Detective Inspector Dave Mead, of Redcar CID, said: "We have employed a number of different ways of gaining access to drug dealers, and this is the latest one.

"A number of dealers have youngsters working as lookouts, so it can be difficult to get close enough to them.

"We will continue to use innovative and imaginative ways of getting to suspected drug dealers."

One man was arrested in The Meadows for possession of amphetamine with intent to supply.

At the other property, no arrests were made, but the female occupant needed medical treatment for an airgun pellet wound she had suffered hours before the Operation Moneypenny raids.

Det Insp Mead said: "The Redcar area has quite a unique problem with amphetamine. Although it is a Class B drug, the injected form that is used in the area is Class A.

"Many of the users are up for two or three days without sleep and it can make people paranoid and violent. The users are committing house burglaries and breaking into cars to fund their habit.

"There are a small number of unscrupulous people making a lot of money out of other people's misery, and we will do everything in our power to combat the problem."

At other raids, one woman was arrested at her home, in Caenarvon Close, Grangetown, for possession of amphetamine, and a man was arrested at a Marske address and charged with possession of heroin with intent to supply.