Thousands of pounds worth of illegal drugs and counterfeit sunglasses seized in dawn raid

Officers raided an address on South Terrace in Southwick on May 13 after receiving intelligence from the community about suspicious activity at the property.

Nobody was inside, but police carried out a search and found quantities of heroin and amphetamine, as well as 4,000 Pregablin tablets.

In another room, officers seized a huge stash of sunglasses and lipstick – both of which officers suspect to be counterfeit.

Police have since interviewed a 40-year-old man under caution in connection with the seizures, with inquiries ongoing.

Officers are continuing to work with Trading Standards to ascertain whether the sunglasses and lipstick are genuine.

Sergeant Sally College, who oversaw the execution of the warrant, said: “We searched this address following concerns raised by the local community about suspected criminality in the area.

“Sometimes that kind of information can lead to nothing, but on this occasion we were able to make significant seizures and take both illegal drugs and suspected counterfeit products off the streets.

“We have no doubt that these drugs would have been destined for the streets of Sunderland.

“We are also pleased to have seized hundreds of suspected counterfeit goods from inside the address.

“Some people may think the selling of counterfeit goods is a victimless crime, but quite often they can be a product of organised crime.

“Groups often supply them into the region with the sole intention of making money – which in turn enables them to continue to fund illicit activities.

“These seizures show our commitment to tackling organised crime and this type of disruption, by working with all our partners, will continue under the banner of Operation Sentinel.”

Anyone who wants to report suspicious behaviour, or has any information about organised crime in your area, can do so by calling police on 101 or by using the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on their website.

Alternatively, you can contact independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper.

Thank you.