House in the Manor Grove area of Cockfield raided by police

Officers raided a house in the Manor Grove area of Cockfield, near Bishop Auckland, on Wednesday afternoon, finding more than quarter of a kilo of mephedrone – a substance made illegal by the Government on April 7, this year.

It was the first time police in County Durham and Darlington have used magistrates’ warrant for a raid in connection with mephedrone.

Yesterday, two local men, one in his 20s and one in his 30s, were being questioned by police in Bishop Auckland. When officers found the men they were intoxicated with what is believed to be mephedrone.

Along with 270g of mephedrone, which was sorted into bags of different sizes and has a street value of between £3,000 and £5,000, officers also found a small amount of cannabis.

Sergeant Peter Hoole said: “We were expecting to find a good amount of mephedrone and we were pleased with the result, because it is a large quantity of the drug, which has been taken off the streets.

“We’re hoping we’ve made a dent in the amount that is out there, but there is obviously still a lot of work to do because we want rid of it.”

Sgt Hoole encouraged anyone who still has the drug, which is also known as drone, mm-cat or miaow, to destroy it.

“There might be people who bought it when it was legal and still have some in their possession.

You can get up to five years in jail for possession and up to 14 years for possession with intent to supply and the police are now taking this drug very seriously.

“You can hand the drug in to any police station, but you can also get rid of it by flushing it down the toilet.”

In November last year, five young people from Cockfield were taken to hospital suffering from the effects of mephedrone.

Police in Teesdale have been at the forefront of a national push to highlight the dangers of the drug and, following the decision to make it illegal, launched a campaign highlighting consequences of possessing and taking it.