Crack houses and drug dens used by violent addicts were targeted as police carried out dawn raids across the borough this morning.

Islington Gazette: Drugs and cash recovered this morningDrugs and cash recovered this morning (Image: Archant)

At the time of writing there were five arrests plus drugs and cash seized in the first stage of the operation that was part of a Met-wide day of action against street-level drug-dealing.

Islington Gazette: A makeshift crack pipe foundA makeshift crack pipe found (Image: Archant)

A 19-year-old was arrested for dealing MDMA powder (a type of ecstasy) on the Lower Hilldrop Estate, Holloway, while on the York Way estate a 25-year-old was arrested for possession of class B drugs and assaulting police who raided the flat.

In Huntingdon Street, Barnsbury, a 23-year-old man and teenage girl were arrested on suspicion of dealing crack cocaine.

In Lever Street, Finsbury, at least £1,200 in cash and cannabis bagged up into ‘deals’ was discovered and a 23-year-old was arrested.

The Gazette joined police in riot gear, dog handlers and regular officers on three of the 20 warrants carried out.

Briefing the team to raid a crack den on the Six Acres Estate, Finsbury Park, Sgt David Wiggins said: “We think this address is being used to deal drugs.

“The man who lives there escaped from prison in 1995, has convictions for dealing heroin and has been previously evicted from a crack house. So that’s what we expect to find.”

Weapons

Sgt Wiggins added that the address was used by the tenants’ son and two violent drug addicts with mental health issues who are known to carry weapons.

“But we have no intelligence that there will be firearms on the premises,” he said. Police broke down the door and found crack pipes and drugs, and arrested the tenant.

Nothing was found at the other two addresses and no arrests were made.

At one addresss a distraught mother was warned to keep a lid on her son’s behaviour or face eviction if police found drugs at the address.