Sherriff Street drugs strike - detective sniffs out heroin and crack

The suspected drug dealer's car was taken apart piece by piece in a painstaking search for the heroin and crack cocaine which brings so much misery to the streets of Worcester.

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Only a short while before the search began, officers had swooped on a suspected dealer's car in Sherriff Street Industrial Estate in a dramatic strike on Monday.

SEARCH: The Volkswagen Golf was searched by officers. Photo: James Connell (Image: SEARCH: The Volkswagen Golf was searched by officers. Photo: James Connell)

Officers struck early - it had just gone 8am - when they made three arrests before any of the drugs could find their way into the hands - and veins - of users. Before very long the suspects were off to Worcester Police Station.

After the screech of tyres, the adrenalin rush of the chase, the shouts and the clink of the handcuffs, came the search for the drugs - slow, laborious and methodical.

In the end, it was a veteran detective's gut instinct and not a sniffer dog's sharp sense of smell which got the job done.

With 16 years on the job, DC Alex Pullen has been at the ugly coal face long enough to know how a drug dealer thinks and, above all, where he might hide his drugs.

Though this is nothing new for him, there is still a look of triumph on his face when he pulls out the large transparent clingfilm bag from Golf's roof lining. The bag contains 'a significant quantity of class A drugs'.

It is believed the drugs are heroin and crack cocaine but tests will have to be completed at Worcester Police Station.

The sense of relief reverberates through the rest of the team as DC Pullen holds up the drugs in the air so everyone can see.

Quickly the roof lining is ripped out to see if the car is hiding any more secrets.

In total three men from the West Midlands were arrested - two aged 20 and the other 18, on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of class A drugs.

Now drugs have been found this will likely result in them being arrested for possession with intent to supply.

They have also discovered what they suspect is the County Lines phone (used to organise the deals).

During the search no stone was left unturned - an energetic sniffer bounded around the back seats, trying to pick up the scent of the drugs.

Another officer checked under the bonnet, shining a torch into the engine compartment and another unscrewed the petrol cap and looked inside.

The boot was searched as was under the seats.