POLICE arrested 19 people and seized drugs with a street value of half a million pounds in a series of dawn raids on suspected drug dealers on Tyneside, yesterday.
A large haul of cocaine, Ecstasy and amphetamines were seized, along with a large amount of cash and five high value cars, after 16 houses in the Walker area of Newcastle were targeted.
The raids, which formed part of Operation Hard Hit, follows months of intelligence gathering in conjunction with Newcastle City Council and the Drugs Action Team.
Seventeen men and two women were being questioned last night, while a teenager was cautioned for possession of small amount cannabis.
Superintendent Kelvin Wilson said: "This is just phase one of our initiative to target drug dealers and there is more to come. Anyone who deals in drugs should be warned they face a hard hit from Northumbria Police.
Supt Wilson added: "In this command area, 70 per cent of people we get in custody for burglary are addicted to Class A drugs and research further afield shows that 60 per all people in custody had a drug habit of some kind."
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