'Anarchism' police chief targets crack

The controversial police chief who said he found anarchism "appealing" was put in charge of police raids on two crack dens.

Lambeth police commander Brian Paddick headed an operation in which eight suspected crack cocaine suppliers were arrested and about 70 rocks of crack worth several thousands of pounds were recovered.

The operation, codenamed Safer Streets, was led by Mr Paddick hours after he was given a dressing-down by Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens, after returning from a three-week holiday in Thailand and Australia. Mr Paddick was carpeted over his "use of language" on a website where he made his comments on anarchism.

His position as head of policing in Lambeth remains unaltered.

The operation began just after 9pm last night as seven police vans with armed officers wearing body armour swooped on two addresses in the St Martins and William Bonnie estates in Brixton.

Some 20 officers from each convoy sledgehammered their way into the flats shouting "police, police".

Four people in each flat were arrested and led away in handcuffs. Detective Superintendent Martin Greenslade, who led the raids, said 40 rocks of crack were seized from the flat in St Martins and 30 rocks from the property in the William Bonnie estate. Officers found crack in a bag thrown out of the back window, in a pot plant and shoved down the sink. They also seized weapons, including a machete and a knife, and a quantity of cash.

In a briefing to officers before last night's operation, Mr Paddick, 43, thanked his colleagues for their efforts and said he intended to be around "for a long while yet". Talking of street crime in Lambeth, he said "clusters of robberies" were taking place around crack houses and he was "absolutely determined" to deal with crack cocaine and heroin abuse.

Mr Greenslade said arresting the dealers was only part of Operation Safer Streets - the main part was making the area safer for residents: "We are interested in the link between street robbery and crack dealing and crack houses in the area.

"Clearly there is a problem in Lambeth which is perhaps greater than other boroughs in London. But we've got to keep this in perspective. We are aiming to close down these premises and make sure it is safer for people to come and go as they wish."

The raids in Brixton came just four days after 400 police seized thousands of pounds worth of crack and cannabis from a raid in West Green Road, Tottenham.