Ben McPartland Officers in riot gear raided a Kentish Town flat this week as they continued the battle against drugs and prostitution. On Tuesday morning, officers dressed in riot gear broke down the door of a flat in the Leysdown block on Malden Road. Cl

Ben McPartland

Officers in riot gear raided a Kentish Town flat this week as they continued the battle against drugs and prostitution.

On Tuesday morning, officers dressed in riot gear broke down the door of a flat in the Leysdown block on Malden Road.

Class A drugs, believed to be heroin and crack cocaine, were seized and two people arrested.

Sgt Danny Hewitt, from Haverstock Safer Neighbourhoods Team, which led the operation, said: "This sends out the message that we won't tolerate drugs in our community.

"We will not stop until we close all these places down.

"Drugs are the root of all evil. They contribute to a lot of crime, anti-social behaviour and disruption in the community.

"We are trying to make residents' lives better."

Residents in the neighbourhood alerted the police to the alleged criminal activity."

Sgt Hewitt said: "We try to protect those more vulnerable. We take something like this very seriously." Residents in Haverstock have made tackling drugs around Malden Road and the Denton estate areas a priority for the Safer Neighbourhoods Team.

The raid, which began with a briefing at Kentish Town police station at 10.30am, was a joint operation between the Safer Neighbourhoods team, Camden police's borough task force and Camden Council.

Officers were given the green light to smash down the door of the flat after convincing a judge at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court on October 3.

Of the two people arrested, one man was charged for breaching his Asbo which had banned him from entering any council block on the ward.

The other, a woman, was charged for breach of a court order and questioned over the possession of class A drugs.

Sgt Hewitt said: "We hope to get the support of the courts because we are doing our bit.

"The female will be put on a drug treatment programme and obviously put through the legal process.