Police seize Mephedrone worth £30k (From York Press)

Police seize Mephedrone worth £30k

9:38am Friday 16th April 2010 in

By Jennifer Bell » jennifer.bell@thepress.co.uk

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A SHIPMENT of the danger drug mephedrone worth £30,000 has been seized in the York area.

The delivery contained several kilos of the potentially lethal substance and was ferried to the region from China.

It was intercepted by drugs officers from North Yorkshire Police.

News of the operation came only hours before mephedrone, also known as M-Cat and meow meow, became a class B drug – marking a victory in The Press’s campaign to make it illegal.

Anybody caught possessing mephedrone now faces a maximum prison sentence of five years, while suppliers could be jailed for 14 years, but police have promised an amnesty until midnight tonight.

The shipment contained enough mephedrone for 9,000 doses, based on a typical street value of £10 a gramme.

Det Con Paul Johnson, North Yorkshire Police’s drugs coordinator, said: “Somebody was thinking ‘right, we can make some money out of this’. We had become aware the consignments were intended for individuals living in the county. It shows people were anticipating the fall-out from deliberations on whether to ban mephedrone and were more than happy to try and make a profit from this.

“People who are involved in distributing this are involved because of the money like all drug dealers – they are not doing it as a beautiful act.” Det Con Johnson said: “People are welcome to take it to Police stations in North Yorkshire up until midnight tonight or dispose of it responsibly before that time, but after that there are simply no excuses. After midnight tonight, it is correct and proper that anyone involved with the use of mephedrone should deal with the consequences.”

The Government’s decision to outlaw the drug came into force at midnight last night. The move heralded a victory for The Press’ campaign The Menace of Mephedrone, launched following the collapse of a teenage student at Woldgate College, in Pocklington. Our campaign called for a ban on the drug, which has been linked with more than 20 deaths across the UK, including those of two teenagers in Scunthorpe and 24-year-old Lois Waters of Norton, in Ryedale.

More than 700 people backed the campaign by signing our petition, which was handed over at 10 Downing Street last month.

The campaign won backing from police and politicians of all parties.

Advice about mephedrone is available by phoning the Drugs Action Team on 01347 825100, while anybody with information about dealing the drug should phone North Yorkshire Police on 0845 6060 247 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

• Politics has been allowed to “contaminate” science and the work of Government advisers, a leading medical journal claimed today.

A hard-hitting editorial in The Lancet criticises the “rushed” decision to ban the drug mephedrone after “political and media pressure”.

The editorial focused on the troubled recent history of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) which issues scientific advice to ministers.

It said: “Politics has been allowed to contaminate scientific processes and the advice that underpins policy. The outcome of an independent inquiry into the practices of the ACMD, commissioned by the Home Office in October 2009, is now urgently awaited.”

Comments(40)

AdmiralNN says...
9:46am Fri 16 Apr 10

Who at the press is responsible for this campaign.
'
Come on show yourselves as i very much doubt that it is a team effort - whos baby is it?