ELEVEN people have been sentenced by the courts after police raids carried out on properties in and around Haslemere, Guildford, Woking and Camberley, in an operation to clamp down on Class A drug supply across West Surrey.

Officers from Surrey’s Serious Organised Crime Unit and local proactive teams were supported by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit when they executed search warrants on October 15 and 22.

Inspector Nolan Heather said: “Drug use and supply in our communities is often the root cause of crime and importantly has an enormous effect on the quality of life in the areas affected.

“That is why we took the action we did to address this problem which we know is a concern for many.

“I hope the sentencings demonstrate that we will not simply stand by and let drug dealing ruin the lives of innocent people.

“If you know there is an issue in your neighbourhood you can be sure that if you tell us we will take action.

“The operation involved months of planning and a number of different teams across the force.

“We also worked closely with our partners at the South East Regional Crime Unit who were involved on both days.

“Some of those sentenced do not live in Surrey but travelled to the county to sell drugs.

“They also identified people who are addicts themselves and used their home addresses as a base from which to deal. From those bases they were able to encourage and corrupt local people into selling drugs on our streets.

“Our operation has seen that link disrupted and ensured that those responsible have been dealt with and those that need help for their addictions are getting it.”

Abdiaziz Elmi, 46, of no fixed abode was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court to five years and eight months; Abdirahil Mohamed, 28, of no fixed abode, will serve four years and eight months.

A further nine were handed sentences ranging from more than three years down to 16 months suspended for two years.

Of those sentenced, two were from London, four from Camberley, one from Guildford, one from Sandhurst and one from Farnborough.

• Anyone who has any information or suspicions about people they suspect of dealing drugs should contact their local neighbourhood team.

But if you wish to remain anonymous you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Help and advice for those with drug related problems can be found at www.talktofrank.com