The force has recently carried out a number of substantial drug raids, particularly in properties in the Dundee area — and just last month arrested four people when £50,000 of the drug was found in a house in Lochee.

Officers have also been involved in various joint operations to tackle the “scally run” which links the Dundee drugs trade with organised crime gangs south of the border.

In particular, Operation Trojan and Operation Jade — which have been undertaken in partnership with Merseyside Police — identified a number of individuals involved in transporting heroin from Liverpool to Dundee.

Police discovered Fintry and Whitfield housing schemes were significant in the trafficking of the drug into the city.

As a result, seven people — three from Liverpool and four from Dundee — are currently behind bars for their role in the supply of the substance.

They are to serve a combined total of 19 years in prison.

Detective Inspector Stuart Holmes, Head of Tayside Police’s Drugs and Surveillance Branch, told the Tele today there had been a number of high value recoveries of heroin in Tayside in the last few months.

“While the interdiction of heroin has surpassed that of previous years and we have had good leads to money flows, we never rest on our laurels,” he said.

“The methods used by those who deal in Class A drugs are often sophisticated so we always have to be one step ahead of them.

“In order to do that we rely on law-abiding members of the public coming forward with information about any suspected drug-dealing in their neighbourhoods.

“A small piece of information from the public can often help us take down organised criminal gangs.

“We are fully aware the availability of heroin is far greater than it was a few years ago.

“Indeed, it is clear from the number of individuals coming through the police custody process who have developed a habit for the drug.

“Many of the people who come into custody within Tayside Police do so because they have a drugs problem for which they need to commit crime to feed.

“That’s why we not only work closely with partners in other forces and agencies to tackle those right at the top of the drug supply chain — we also work with agencies who have to deal with those people so badly affected by the misery that being addicted to a Class A drug brings.

“If anyone has information about suspected drug-dealing in their neighbourhood I would urge them to get in touch.

“Community information is vital in reducing the amount of heroin being sold on our streets.”

Anyone with any information regarding the supply of heroin in Tayside can contact police on 0300 111 2222 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

— Addaction, the UK’s largest drug and alcohol treatment charity, expressed concern at the heroin haul figures.

Gareth Balmer, from the organisation’s Dundee base in Nethergate, said there was still a long way to go before the “scourge” of heroin was overcome in Tayside.

He said, “While it’s encouraging to hear the police are doing their jobs and seizing heroin from our streets, there also needs to be a reduction in the demand for it.

“We’re working very hard with a number of other services to ensure waiting lists for frontline treatment for addiction remains low in the area.

“We see first hand the misery heroin inflicts on people’s lives and it is important not to demonise these people, but to enable them to stop.

“In a city like Dundee, it’s hard to get away from problems caused by drugs.

“No-one sets out to become addicted to heroin and we need to persuade people it’s not an attractive life choice.”

DEVASTATING DEATH TOLL

The death toll from drug abuse in Tayside was revealed today with 50 lives lost in confirmed or suspected overdoses last year, many due to heroin (writes Steven Bell).

Alarming figures released to the Tele show the number of drug deaths in the region has more than doubled in four years.

Fatalities investigated by the police during 2009 include cases where drugs have been contaminated or cut with harmful substances.

Most recently, the drugs community has been warned about a batch of heroin containing anthrax which claimed two lives in Dundee.

Inspector Wendy Symington, of Tayside Police, said, “The number of drug deaths has risen in recent years across Scotland, and there is no clear reason for this.”

Figures show that deaths have risen every year since the 24 suspected or confirmed fatalities in 2005.

There were 35 cases in 2006, 36 in 2007 and 48 in 2008.

Last year’s total is understood to have been the highest ever recorded in the region, with ages of the deceased ranging from 16 to 55.

Police said there are a number of factors likely to put users at risk of overdose, including reduced tolerance — particularly if someone has detoxed or is in relapse from treatment.

Changes in drug purity, contamination, use of different cutting agents and more dangerous injecting practices also cause risks.

“TRAGIC WASTE OF LIFE”

Speaking after today’s death toll revelations, Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said, “This represents a tragic waste of human life — often young people who had their whole lives ahead of them.

“It’s a tragic loss to families and to the community. These new statistics simply reinforce the huge and increasing risks that accompany illegal drug-taking.

“Every addict should be made aware that any injection at any time could kill them as heroin is often adulterated or contaminated — and there are other serious risks associated with needle-sharing.”

The MSP said it was the Scottish Government’s priority to “get rid of the scourge of drugs” and praised efforts by Tayside Police to remove illegal substances from the streets.

“Drug and alcohol addiction is extremely challenging for authorities across Scotland,” continued Mr FitzPatrick.

“Recent clampdown operations by Tayside Police have been successful and we must keep up the battle against drug-dealers wherever they appear in the city.

“Tayside Police have taken strong and effective action against drug users on the street with extensive use of stop-and-search powers and a number of arrests and have made a significant impact on the quantity of illegal drugs in circulation locally.”

Mr FitzPatrick said previous strategies of prescribing methadone had “clearly failed”. He backed the Scottish Government’s shift to promote recovery and support to get people off drugs altogether.

“Drug misuse wrecks individual lives and damages communities,” he added.

“Promoting recovery from drug addiction is crucial to helping people turn around their lives from misery to hope.”

OVERDOSE TRAINING FOR DRUG USERS

Drug abusers in Tayside are being given training on how to recognise the signs of an overdose and provide basic life support (writes Steven Bell).

The measure is one of a number that have been introduced following the formation of a specialist Tayside Drugs Death Review Group, comprising experts from the NHS, local authorities, voluntary agencies and police.

The body was based on a pilot in Fife and one of its first tasks was to review the local reaction to national reports on drug-related deaths.

“A vital recommendation from these reports has been to provide training for service providers, carers and users themselves in the recognition of the signs of drug overdose and in basic life support,” said a spokesperson for the group.

“Overdose training is currently being offered across Tayside which will provide individuals with the necessary skills, so they can quickly recognise and assist victims of drug overdose, thereby adding to the effectiveness of the emergency services in these situations.”

The review group, chaired by consultant in public health medicine Dr Kirsty Licence, reviews information gathered on each incident.

Its aim is to ensure lessons are learned from every fatal overdose to help shape future services for drug users in the area.

A database gathering information on all drug deaths was set up in an effort to better understand the causes of the tragedies.

It also feeds into a national database of drugs deaths that has been established by the Information and Statistics Division of NHS Scotland.

The review group said a “broad range” of harm reduction and treatment services are available in Tayside.

“Ongoing developments in these services aim to increase the range of treatment available,” added the spokesperson.

“The complex factors that contribute to drug deaths, however, means there is no simple, single-stranded solution.

“All relevant agencies across Tayside are working together to address this issue.”