Search dog joins officers

A sniffer dog joined officers as they hit the streets and night-time venues in Stoke-on-Trent to target drug misuse and improve public safety.

Last weekend, we visited licensed premises in Longton, Fenton, Smallthorne, Tunstall, Northwood and Hanley, where we carried out searches with PD Lucky.

PD Lucky, from the West Midlands Police Dog Unit, works with her handler, Mark Collier, to find drugs, sitting down when she detects them.

This led us to stop and search 20 people. A total of 11 of those were found with either cocaine or cannabis.

As a result, officers issued 10 community resolution orders and one conditional caution.

Officers also carried out drug swipes in venues to detect drug use and gave advice to staff and members of the public.

Sergeant Chris Gifford, from Stoke North local policing team (LPT), said: “This continued action shows we are committed to making Stoke-on-Trent a safe place to live, work and visit and sends out a clear message that drugs will not be tolerated.”