POLICE today revealed that they have taken more than £1 million worth of drugs off Tayside’s streets.
Illegal substances including heroin, cocaine and cannabis were seized in swoops by officers across the region.
Details of the hauls came to light as it emerged 11 people have died from drug overdoses in Dundee alone in recent weeks.
Today, Councillor Alan Ross — convener of the city’s community safety and public protection committee — said the spate of deaths was a “huge concern.”
He said: “Nobody is hiding from the problems we have with drugs.
“The focus is to try and dissuade as many young people as possible from that lifestyle and to help those who are already caught up in that lifestyle.”
The Tele has learned that there were 56 overdoses in Dundee between April and June this year.
Eleven of them were fatal.
Health secretary Shona Robison, MSP for Dundee East, said: “I want to assure the public that we are absolutely committed to tackling the damaging impact of drugs and making recovery a reality for individuals, families and communities affected by drugs through our national drugs strategy, the Road to Recovery.
“We have seen a huge rise in the number of recovery support groups in communities across Scotland, with over 100 such groups meeting regularly, led by people recovering from addiction.
“This is also benefitting Dundee with a range of recovery and mutual aid meetings, while a Recovery Cafe has been developed to support and provide community support for those who are in recovery. However, we appreciate that we can do even more to address these figures.”
Meanwhile, efforts to disrupt the supply of drugs led to seizures totalling £1,083,423 during 2015/16.
Officers recovered more than 20kg of heroin with a value of £365,157.
Cocaine powder weighing in at just under 4.5kg was seized, with a street value of £203,595.
Various types of cannabis with a combined total value of £445,598 were also seized. And police collected nearly 34,000 diazepam tablets along with more than 2,000 ecstasy tablets.
Superintendent Graeme Murdoch of Tayside Division said: “To carry out intelligence-led searches and execute drugs search warrants, we need information. Anyone who knows of drug dealing or drug misuse in their area should tell us about it.”
Councillor Ross said talks were taking place with the police on various approaches to drugs issues.
“On Monday we had a workshop with the police discussing what we can do in the city centre to tackle the issue,” he said.
“I’ve been working closely with the divisional commander and there are plans to have a dedicated police team that will take effect in the near future.
“It’s not just about nabbing the person who takes drugs, but trying to signpost them to something that would be better for their time and trying to engage them and find out what their issues are.
“What the police are hoping to do is move back to a more locally-based set-up and I think more police in our local communities will help. We want to combat drug use because it is such a waste of life.
“We do our best to learn from every death and try to build a fuller picture of what’s happening.
“I’ve heard the new community hub in Stobswell has been the best thing that’s happened to them. There’s a good feeling about the area and people are getting help.”