POLICE have warned they may carry out a raid a day in their bid to combat drug dealing.

The message to dealers came as it was announced that a successful drugs crackdown in the Nelson area, which netted 31 suspected offenders, will be extended.

Operation Flourish, part of the Safer Streets in Lancashire scheme, was launched six weeks ago, in direct response to concerns from the local community.

It has involved a significant increase in police activity in and around Nelson and Brierfield, including the execution of extra drugs warrants and stop and searches, as well as more high visibility reassurance patrols.

The new phase of the operation will investigate drugs networks in Nelson and Brierfield, as well as some areas of Burnley, and how they interact with each other.

Superintendent Steve Hartley, operations manager at Pennine Division, said: "As a division, we are 100 per cent committed to tackling drug related criminality and we will do whatever we can to rid our local communities of drugs.

"The use and supply of illegal substances and the level of crime and misery associated with it will simply not be tolerated.

"Over the past five weeks, working in partnership with local residents and community leaders, we have made significant inroads into tackling the drugs problem in Nelson and Brierfield and now we must build on that work.

"During the course of our investigations, people have told us about quite sophisticated networks who buy and supply drugs to each other. Sometimes this causes conflict and, although normally within the groups themselves, this has an impact on the police and the local community.

"These networks are close knit and require really close scrutiny. Our aim is to break them and ensure that individual drug dealers and networks have to keep looking over their shoulders.

"People who supply drugs in these type of networks go to prison for long periods, which we have proved in the past, and I think local dealers should give that some thought."

Mr Hartley said a range of tactics would be used to disrupt and detect criminal activity. Patrols would be stepped up in affected areas and known and suspected drugs dealers would be visited by local police and urged to listen very carefully to what the police were telling them.

Mr Hartley said: "Even if we have to carry out a raid a day, we will if that's what it takes to reduce the availability of drugs on our streets."

Anyone with information about drug related incidents should contact the police on 01282 425001 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.