Over 30 police officers were involved in high-profile raids on so-called ‘legal high’ shops in Arbroath, Montrose and Perth this morning.
In a simultaneous operation in the three locations, premises were targeted under Operation Carinate as part of a Police Scotland assault on shops selling New Psychoactive Substances (NPS).
The issue of legal highs has led to strong community campaigns being mounted, particularly in Angus where groups in Montrose and Arbroath forced the closure of previous premises.
The locations for today’s raids were Evape-o-lution shops in Arbroath’s Brothock Bridge and Montrose High Street, and a further outlet in County Place, Perth.
Sergeant Gordon Fotheringham of the community safety flex team in Angus said Op Carinate’s objective was to tackle the irresponsible sale of substances which have wreaked havoc in the lives of users, some of whom are feeding a £60-a-day habit.
“The operation is in relation to the sale of New Psychoactive Substances, often mistakenly referred to as legal highs.
“The reason we don’t refer to them as legal highs is that if you do that people get the wrong impression that they are going to be safe. If they go in and take some of these products it can have quite a medical impact on them.
“More of often than not it ends up in them having to be taken to hospital.
“The operation stemmed from the irresponsible sale of these products,” added Sgt Fotheringham.
Police have warned the operators of the head shops about the inappropriate sale of NPS products and Sgt Fotheringham said examination of substances previously removed from the shops had provided “sufficient information” to execute the drugs search warrants.
Police sniffer dogs were involved in the operation and officers spent some time at the premises gathering material which was removed for further analysis.
For more on this story, see Tuesday’s Courier.