Joint working for Safer Nights in Stoke-on-Trent
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Cocaine and cannabis were taken off the streets when we patrolled Hanley, Burslem and Stoke with a sniffer dog during our latest Operation Safer Nights deployment.
Police dog (PD) Lucky, from the West Midlands Police Dog Unit, works with handler PC Mark Collier, sitting next to people when she detects drugs.
It was this indication that led us to stop and search 18 people, finding and seizing cocaine and cannabis. We also visited 19 licensed premises where we carried out searches with PD Lucky.
Officers also did drug swipes in the venues to detect drug use, and passed on advice to staff and the public.
Sergeant Chris Gifford, from Stoke North local policing team (LPT), said: “We are doing all we can to detect and deter drug misuse and are using a range of methods available to us, including the use of a passive search dog.
“This continued action shows we are committed to making Stoke-on-Trent a safe place to live, work and visit by targeting those who think it is acceptable to bring illegal drugs into the area.”