DRUGS squad officers swooped on 17 addresses across the county in the early hours of Thursday morning, seizing heroin, amphetamines and other drugs as part of Operation Magpie.

The successful operation, which was a force-wide initiative by Wiltshire Constabulary, could lead to a number of convictions.

Seven raids were carried out in Chippenham, Calne, Trowbridge, Westbury, Warminster and Bradford on Avon between 7.30am and 8.30am, with various others in Swindon and Salisbury.

Officers knocked in doors with a small but powerful battering ram and took residents by surprise at addresses in Field View and Lordsmead, Chippenham, and Anchor Road in Calne.

At Field View six officers woke the young male occupant and his friend from their slumbers in order to search the flat under the Misuse Of Drugs Act.

Before the raid Sgt Jim Griffey of Chippenham police stressed the importance of making sure all exits were covered and every possible nook and cranny scoured for illegal substances.

"We are looking for heroin, cannabis and associated documentation because there is some suggestion of dealing from the premises," he said.

Officers were told they must wear gloves for their own protection because dirty needles could be left lying around.

PC Dave Budd, who is trained in forcing open doors, knocked down the door of the flat and the officers ran up the stairs.

"It helps when the drugs officers have done a bit of homework in advance and then you just have to feel for where the locks are. It doesn't take much pressure to open the door," said PC Budd.

The two male occupants were detained while a thorough search was made of the house, looking through everything from the toilet cistern, pillow cases, cupboards, CD cases, bags, boxes and clothes, as well as behind and underneath anything and everything.

Sgt Griffey said: "When we're searching normally one will start in one corner and one in the other and meet somewhere in the middle, checking through absolutely everything.

"But before we do that the most important thing is to check who is in the premises and make sure they are contained, so we can get on with the job."

Officers took away several DSS claim books after searching the Field View flat.

PC Zack Newton said the benefit books would be passed on to the DSS's Fraud Inquiry Team for investigation.

Although no substances were found on the premises, there was evidence drugs had been used. Police also found a payphone similar to one which had been ripped from the wall of Chippenham Magistrates Court last month.

They also discovered someone had engineered the electricity supply so that it bypassed the meter. The tenant was eventually arrested on suspicion of theft and abstracting electricity illegally. His friend went voluntarily to the police station to make a statement.

DI Paul Granger, who led the operation, said he was pleased with its success.

"I'm happy with the result because it sends out the right message that we are going to target these people and when we do we are successful.

"We choose who to target thanks to intelligence from officers and from the public and we have to be able to justify obtaining a warrant."

"It is quite possible that it is more difficult for people to get heroin in Chippenham now, since we have had successful prosecutions this year, with a number of people sent to prison. But we are not going to get complacent and we will keep enforcing the legislation on class A drugs so that Chippenham doesn't end up with a major problem."

DS Mike Jones, head of the divisional intelligence unit at Chippenham, was pleased with the results of Operation Magpie. "We found drugs at all the addresses except two, including heroin, amphetamines and cannabis, and six people were arrested," he said.

Heroin was found at the address in Lordsmead, Chippenham.

DS Jones said: "In all cases we were talking about amounts consistent with users. We are not particularly talking about dealers, but these people all fit in to the grand scheme of things for a particular purpose.

"It is always encouraging to get good results like this, but what we really want to enforce is the message that we will not give up on targeting those people who are involved with illegal drugs in any way, shape or form."

He said it was possible some of the intelligence which had led them to raid the addresses had come from the Gazette's Shop a Pusher line.

"We feed off things like Shop a Pusher. We can't always act on things we are told straight away, but it might just provide the final piece of the jigsaw we are looking for. We continue to encourage the use of the line."

l The Gazette's 24-hour Shop A Pusher line asks readers to pass on any information about the sale of supply of drugs. All information is treated in the strictest confidence.