PRESTON'S drug squad is stamping out drug dealers across the area after making a dozen raids in two weeks, netting around £20,000 of class A drugs.

And the head of the operation has praised the general public for the help they are giving the police in catching the criminals.

Detective Sergeant Andy Murphy said: "The community intelligence is what drives us. The real starting point is some information from members of the public who say that people are at it."

After a series of high profile raids the drug squad -- set up to smash the link between street crime and drugs -- has seized thousands of pounds of class A drugs such as heroin and cocaine.

And the squad, made up of seven members -- a detective inspector, detective sergeant and five officers -- has even revealed that people convicted of dealing in class A drugs could be kicked out of their homes for the crime.

DS Murphy said: "It's not like it used to be where we beat the door in and they're out from court the next day dealing again. It's more long-term than that.

"When we do get a conviction we don't just leave it. We take it a step forward and they will then be evicted from their address."

Two of the squad's raids netted more than £10,000 worth of drugs between them.

The first, on Friday, May 24, resulted in the arrest of a 21-year-old man at an address in Preston. He has since been charged with three counts of supplying heroin, cocaine and cannabis, and granted conditional bail by Preston magistrates. The drugs seized at the address was worth between £6,000 and £7,000.

Then a raid on Thursday, May 30, captured a local man at an address in the Avenham area of Preston. Crack cocaine and heroin was seized, with an estimated street value of £4,500.

DS Murphy said: "It's going very well. Since it was set up we have probably done about 14 raids, so we've been very busy!

"We are concentrating on class A drugs, which are really heroin and cocaine. The driving force is that there was an increase in street robbery and we need to come between them and drugs. So we set this team up.

"We are trying to take away the dealers, and through that taking away the robberies."