A large scale raid has taken place at a property in East Cowes this morning (Wednesday), with specialist ambulance crews and firefighters supporting Police with the major operation.
Officers clad in full personal protective equipment, including respirators, have entered an address at Cockerell Rise off Victoria Grove.
At just gone 08:30, Police smashed down the door of a flat with shouts of ‘POLICE stay where you are’ clearly heard, alerting neighbours to the situation.
A Detection, Identification and Monitoring (DIM) unit from Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service has been stationed nearby alongside 3 vehicles from South Central Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Area Response Team (HART), indicating the risks involved in this unusual multi-agency operation.
Scenes of crime investigators, CID detectives and dog handlers from Hampshire Constabulary are also involved, alongside firefighters from Ryde and a variety of other individuals from both sides of the Solent.
Island Echo can reveal that a man and a woman have both been arrested at the scene and have been taken into custody at Newport Police Station for questioning.
UPDATE @ 10:02 – Hampshire Constabulary has confirmed that raids have taken place at both Cockerell Rise in East Cowes and at Linden Road in Newport as part of investigations into the supply of Class A drugs on the Isle of Wight.
2 individuals have been arrested at East Cowes, with a further 2 arrests understood to have taken place in Newport.
Police are expected to release further information in due course.
If you suspect there is class A drug dealing in your neighbourhood, call Police on 101.
UPDATE @ 11:57 – 4 people have now been arrested as part of investigations into the supply of Class A drugs. Read more on this story at https://www.islandecho.co.uk/4-arrested-after-major-drugs-raids-in-newport-and-east-cowes/.
What is a DIM unit?
The team onboard the DIM vehicle are able to detect and analyse a range of chemicals found in different states –
What is HART?
The job of the Hazardous Area Response Team is to triage and treat casualties and to help save lives in very difficult circumstances. HART paramedics are specially trained to deal with incidents in all types of environments including chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear situations and other scenarios such as tight spaces or working at height. They work in the ‘hot zone’ at incidents.
