A POLITICIAN has shared his horror at the impact drug taking and dealing is having on our community.

Alyn and Deeside AM Carl Sargeant has lived in the area all his life and says he is troubled by how commonplace it is to see drug dealing and drug taking on our streets in broad daylight.

Mr Sargeant has also been contacted by constituents worried about the same problems, saying they often witness drugs being openly dealt and even injected in daylight.

But he has vowed to do what he can to support police in their efforts to combat the problem.

He has met with North Wales Police Chief Inspector Sharon McCairn who told him about the dedicated police work going on behind the scenes – undercover operations and surveillance work.

Mr Sargeant has also gained an insight into what police are up against, with big dealers from English cities moving in on vulnerable houses in the area to deal drugs.

As soon as one big dealer is eliminated there will be someone waiting to take their place.

Now Mr Sargeant has welcomed a positive response to his letter to North Wales Police and Crime Commissioner Arfon Jones asking for more operational support to be allocated to Flintshire to tackle the problem.

Writing back, Mr Jones said: “I can reassure you that there are significant operations currently active in Flintshire and the local Superintendent has dedicated all of his Safer Neighbourhood Team’s resources to identifying and
working on drugs related issues within Flintshire.

“Matters surrounding drugs are a priority for the team and increased activity is taking place on the ground at PCSO level.

“Intelligence from the public is also regularly received and reviewed.

“North Wales Police have recently secured four closure orders on properties in Flintshire South which have been linked to drug supplying.

“These closures have received extremely positive public feedback. The force is continually seeking more closure orders each week.”

Mr Jones mentioned that the force is working extremely hard to combat the issues raised by Mr Sargeant within the limited resources they work with due to budget cuts experienced by all public bodies in the last few years.

Mr Sargeant said: “I welcome this positive letter from the commissioner which shows we are all on the same page with regards to doing our very best to tackle this issue.

“Since my letters of September, I have noticed increased police presence around Connah’s Quay and Shotton and there have also been many successful operations through September and October resulting in several arrests and large quantities of drugs being seized.

“I’ll be going on the beat locally with a PCSO soon and have launched a survey to collect my constituents’ comments and experiences on the issue of drug use and dealing.”

He added: “I’ll be using the information gathered to keep constituents updated on progress, and collating the information into a report to hopefully discuss with police and other agencies.”