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Cannabis Campaigners' Guide News Database result:
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UK; Police target pubs in drug raids
Hayley Cuthbertson Coventry Evening Telegraph
Wednesday 22 Jan 2003 Police drug patrols are targeting pubs all over Coventry with sniffer dogs which can detect someone who has smoked cannabis more than an hour earlier. It's the first time a patrol has used the dogs in this way out-side the city centre. More than a dozen locals were visited by 15 officers with three drugs detection dogs in the first patrols on Monday night - and more patrols could follow. Sgt Kerry Blakeman, who led the operation, said it was aimed at sending a strong message to customers that illegal drugs are not welcome in Coventry pubs. Pubs in Stoke, Canley, Ernesford Grange, Earlsdon, and Willenhall were visited on Monday by officers from Chace Avenue. Sgt Blakeman said the operation was carried out with the full co-operation of the licensees and was backed by Coventry's Communities Against Drugs team. The dogs are trained to sit down quietly next to the spot where they think they have found an illicit sub-stance. Their sense of smell is said to be so strong that they can detect someone who has smoked cannabis more than an hour before, even of they no longer have the drug on them. A number of people were searched by police under the Misuse of Drugs Act. No arrests were made. Sgt Blakeman said: "We received positive feedback from the public and may consider carrying out similar operations in the future." Police in the city centre began carrying out similar operations aimed at the clubbing scene last September. In their first operation they seized more than 100 ecstasy tablets after searching clubbers waiting to get into the Skydome complex. The operation has now become a regular part of Friday and Saturday nights in the city centre, with random checks carried out at a number of venues.
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