How the police and council are winning the war on drugs in Plymouth – Plymouth Herald

WATCH ABOVE: Police and council workers shut down a suspected drugs den in Devonport

Guns and drugs were found at the latest drug den uncovered in Plymouth - the latest in a string of grim houses and flats shut down by the police and council in recent months.

Plymouth City Council's Anti-Social Behaviour Team has been working with Devon and Cornwall Police as part of a crackdown aimed at ridding communities of their nightmare neighbours.

City chiefs have warned other drug users and anti-social tenants that nobody is safe as they continue to boot out the worst of Plymouth's households.

Councillor Dave Downie, the council's cabinet member for safer and stronger communities, issued the firing shot after a sex and drugs den in Grenville Road, St Judes, was shut down earlier this week.

Read next: These are the 12 most anti-social streets in Plymouth

He said: "We are pleased to have secured another successful closure order in the city this demonstrates that we are committed to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour and creating a safer Plymouth, working with our partners.

"Drug use and drug dealing, and the crime and anti-social behaviour associated with it, ruins people's lives and we will take tough action to address these issues.

"We will continue to work with Devon and Cornwall Police and landlords of all tenures to tackle this and we thank them for their continued support.

"We would also encourage any local residents suffering similar issues not to suffer in silence, but to report them, as we will take action you do not have to give your name."

You can report problems with anti-social behaviour anonymously by calling either Police 101 or our Anti-Social Behaviour Team on 01752 307047.

St Judes

Magistrates agreed to shut down this private flat described in court as a "shooting gallery" for drug addicts yesterday.

The three-month closure order was granted by Plymouth Magistrates after neighbourhood police and Plymouth City Council's Antisocial Behaviour Team put forward a host of evidence relating to the use of drugs, antisocial behaviour and weapons being kept at the property.

The councils ASB team, working with neighbourhood officers, initially applied to the court for a closure notice on February 20, and succeeded on gaining a full closure notice today on the ground floor flat of 172 Grenville Road in Prince Rock.

The court heard there had been months of antisocial behaviour at the property which made the lives of three young female Marjon students a misery.

The court heard the property was visited day and night by addicts who would hammer on doors and windows to gain access to the property. The court heard addicts would turn up to shoot-up heroin while prostitutes would use the flat for their own business.

The tenant Gary Steer did not contest the hearing at Plymouth Magistrates Court on Monday 6 March 2017.

Coxside

A city flat which was considered to be a magnet for drug users and antisocial behaviour will remain shut for now after a closure order is extended.

Plymouth City Council applied to District Judge Baker at Plymouth Magistrates Court on Tuesday to extend the closure order on 3E Teats Hill.

The original closure order was granted last November.

The application was heard in the tenant Stephen Edsel Ford's absence, who refused to come to court and was currently at Exeter prison on remand.

The Herald reported later how Edsel Ford faces a minimum three year jail term after pleading guilty to burgling a home in Lipson on December 31.

At that hearing magistrates were told Edsel Ford's flat was a magnet for troublemakers and drug users.

Greenbank

Late last year police and council chiefs shut down a drug house where late-night brawls erupted and dealers plied their trade all just yards from a children's playground and primary school.

Plymouth City Council's anti-social behaviour lawyer Tony Johnson told the bench at Plymouth Magistrates Court how council staff had worked with neighbourhood officers from Plymouth police and landlords Westward Housing Group to gather evidence about a whole host of incidents linked to 50 Hospital Road in Greenbank.

He explained how the occupant Stuart Clark lived in the property following the death of his parents who were the tenants.

The council had sought a closure notice, which was granted and had returned to court with a host of evidence, which included police bodycam footage taken during a drugs raid, to seek a three month closure order.

Mr Johnson noted evidence from police intelligence logs which suggested drugs such as heroin and crack cocaine were being used and sold from the property.

A Misuse of Drugs Act warrant was executed at the property by police and magistrates were shown footage which revealed needles, crack pipes, recently used foil, a home-made bong made to look like an asthma inhaler, an a number of Kinder egg plastic containers.

Devonport

Police and council chiefs shut down a Plymouth flat suspected to be linked to violence and drug use.

Neighbours had long complained about the property 86 Keat Street in Morice Town alleging it was home to considerable antisocial behaviour, violence, drug use and supply.

Officers interviewed locals who highlighted incidents of disorderly behaviour arising from the flat as well as several complaints in respect of drugs and noise over a prolonged period of time.

These were presented at a court hearing in May, when Plymouth City Council successfully applied for a closure order before city magistrates.

Devonport

A suspected drugs flat in Devonport was shut down as part of a double attack by the city's authorities.

Magistrates heard evidence and were shown photographs of 12b Duke Street, where anti-social behaviour and drug use was taking place blamed on Shane Beasley, who lived on the premises.

The property was subject to an eight-week closure order and Beasley was ordered to pay 100 court costs.

Devonport

The second of two properties in Devonport to be targeted at once after reports of criminal behaviour.

The orders were granted after brave neighbours and police gave evidence of criminal behaviour. The council then asked magistrates for the orders.

The magistrates' court heard that Mark Lewis, who lived at 14a Duke Street, had engaged in criminal behaviour and that the use of the premises had resulted in serious nuisance being caused to members of the public, much of which was attributable to groups of people attending the property, shouting, swearing and taking drugs.

The property is subject to a three month closure order and Lewis was ordered to pay 200 court costs.

Stoke

A flat where the body of a young man was found in a suspected drug-related death was 'shut down' last year.

The address 12 Valletort Flats in Valletort Place, Stonehouse was subject of a "temporary closure order" secured by by Plymouth City Council, meaning that only the tenant is allowed inside.

The property was the focus of a number of antisocial behaviour issues which plagued the block of flats. When police were called to the property on June 8, when the body of a 25-year-old man was found, officers discovered hundreds of needles in drawers and across the flat's rooms.

Prosecutors representing Safer Plymouth Partnership, made up of police and council, told magistrates there was a clear indication of drug use linked to antisocial behaviour connected to the premises. .

The deceased man was formally identified as David Sutton.

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How the police and council are winning the war on drugs in Plymouth - Plymouth Herald