A drugs bust in Huddersfield led police to a suspected heroin dealer.They raided commercial premise sin Fartown as part of a major investigation into class A drug dealing.
Detectives from Kirklees CID were joined by specialist entry and search teams, and officers from Operation Viper - West Yorkshire Police's major offensive against the county's most prolific criminals.
They raided the shop on Bradford Road at 1.45pm yesterday.
A 41-year-old man was arrested during the operation and was found to be in possession of a knife and 20 wraps of suspected class A drug heroin.
He remained in custody last night and is being held on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class A drugs, possession of an offensive weapon and immigration offences.
Officers entered the premises under the Misuse of Drugs Act following information that drug dealing may have occurred on or around the premises.
Police are not identifying the business as there is no evidence to suggest the proprietors are in any way complicit with suspected criminality.
Det Sgt Damian Roebuck said: “This operation was about responding to information we have received from the public and doing something about it.
“The investigation is at an early stage but the seizure of a significant amount of suspected class A heroin means it's no longer available on the local market, which makes our local communities that much safer.
“I would like to thank the public for their cooperation and patience during the arrest phase of the operation yesterday afternoon”.
Operation Viper has been running for several weeks across West Yorkshire and has already led to dozens of arrests.
A force spokesman said: “Viper is beating crime in West Yorkshire and putting criminals out of action.
“We are targeting the most prolific offenders, making arrests in high crime areas across the county.
“The focus is on delivering total crime reduction, particularly driving down house burglary, theft from vehicles, shoplifting and drugs offences.
“There will be no hiding place for criminals and they won’t be safe in their own homes. We are stepping up our action and taking the fight to the criminals”.
