TUESDAY OCTOBER 20th 2009
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UEA'S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
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ISSUE 233
NEW I
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~ourtesy
of Apple Education Store
THE FIVEWAYS: IT'S A RIOT NEWS Community tip-off to police prompts a forty officer drugs raid at The Fiveways pub. Two arrests made at the pub on conspiracy to supply Class A drugs after a three month investigation.
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Joey Millar Two arrests have been made after Norfolk Police conducted a major drugs raid at The Fiveways pub on Friday 9th October at around 6.30pm. Over 40 officers were involved in the raid on the pub off Earlham Road, within a five minute walk of campus, many of whom were equipped with riot gear, taser stun guns and search dogs. Customers and staff were held inside and checked by a drug-detection dog wh ile a specialist forensic team searched the pub for a number of hours after the raid with hi-tech drugswabbing equipment. Officers from the local Licensing Authority accompanied the police, searching for any licensing breaches. The raid came at a time when the pub was becoming busy with patrons celebrating the end of the working week. Streets around Gipsy Lane and Earlham Road were at a standstill as The Fiveways was completely cordoned off during the operation. Traffic disruption also ensued in parts of the city centre after a number of roads were blocked by motorcycle officers to allow a ten-vehicle police convoy quick access to the pub. Safer neighbourhood teams spent the weekend visiting homes explaining the reason for the raid .
UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION The raid followed a three month undercover police investigation, which was conducted after local residents and pub regulars made allegations that cocaine had been dealt within the pub.
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TRAVEL Nick Dean, head of Norwich Police, said : "We have been receiving complaints from members of the public for some time and we suspect substantial quantities of cocaine may have been sold inside the pub." He went on to declare that "this should send out a message to the public that we take any reports of suspicious activity seriously". Norwich Evening News reported that a Bronze Commander Mick Brown warned officers before the raid to expect dangerous dogs and missiles, including pool balls or glasses. In the end, however, the event passed without any violence. A 30-year old woman and a 46year old man were arrested, although they have since been released on bail while an investigation takes place. Ayse Tary, a first year drama student who visited the pub during
Freshers' Week, was surprised by the news: "I would never have guessed anything like that was going on around here", she told Concrete, "this place is so quaint, I'm appalled it happened this close to us". A local resident, who gave her name as Sinead but preferred to remain otherwise anonymous, also expressed her shock at the events. "There have been rumours [of drug dealings] but I never expected this to happen", she commented, gesturing towards the then-closed pub. The Fiveways reopened Saturday 17th October after a week closure. The closure was due to the ongoi~g investigation, as well as the fact that during the raid a number of licence breaches were discovered in the pub. Alleged offences include a failure to maintain emergency exits and a lack of noise reducers. The owner
contacted the police pledging his full co-operation after the raid .
DRUGS PROBLEM This raid highlights England's superlative drug problem. Roughly 750,000 people use cocaine each year, more than in any other European country. The percentage of the population with a drug problem (0.85%) is at least twice as much as in France {0.4%), Germany {0.3%) and Holland {0.3%) . Even Norfolk, with its below-average crime rates and small-town nature, is home to substantial drug use. A study, carried out in part by UEA, revealed that in 2004 there were over 8,000 people in the county using drugs and over 270 arrested for possession of Class A drugs. 29 people died in drug-related incidents in Norfolk that year.
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