ANTI-drugs officers were convinced they had uncovered a cannabis factory when a police helicopter detected a suspicious building. The onboard thermal imaging -camera identified what looked like a clear case of a heating system to cultivate the illegal weed. But police were left glowing with embarrassment when they swooped on Pamela Hardcastle's semi and found the family's guinea pigs Simon and Kenny being kept warm by an electric heater. Mrs Hardcastle, 42, was at work as a school's learning mentor when she received a frantic call from her mother, who lives opposite her, to go home because police had a search warrant. [continues 302 words]
DRUG runners from Western Africa and Eastern Europe are using Northamptonshire as a cog in the multi-billion pound trade of crack cocaine. Evidence has emerged that couriers from African states such as Nigeria and Sierra Leone are targeting the British drugs market via Northamptonshire. And criminals operating out of the former Soviet Union are also thought to be capitalising on the booming drugs business. A Customs and Excise spokesman said: "This comes as no surprise to us, and it is something that Customs and Excise is acutely attuned to with other law enforcement agencies around the world. [continues 267 words]
