WITH a record haul of heroin and cocaine seized in Lothian and Borders in just nine months, it would be easy for police to suggest they were winning the war against drugs.
A combination of intelligence gathering, undercover work and surveillance operations has produced a series of big successes for drugs squad officers.
Police chiefs admit, however, that the £2.1 million in Class A drugs seized between April and Dec
ember is not simply the fruits of their intensive labours. It is also evidence of attempts by organised criminal gangs to reap greater profits by increasing their illegal trade.
Larger and larger amounts of cocaine have certainly flooded into Edinburgh in recent years, driving down prices as demand continues to rise.
One thing fuelling the growth of the city's cocaine trade is the demand for the drug from across traditional social divides, with everyone from high-rolling bankers to the mechanics who mend their cars wanting to score.
It is true to say that even drug dealers are not immune to the current economic turmoil, with the dropping exchange rate pushing up the price of imports to the UK, many of which are paid for in euros.
The weakening pound, combined with ongoing strife in Afghanistan where most of the world's poppy fields are found, contributed to a shortage in heroin supplies in the Capital last summer.
Despite these problems, the drugs continue to find their way via criminal gangs in London, Liverpool and Manchester, to the hoods who dominate the Lothian scene.
The police have undoubtedly had their successes in targeting the local networks, but the concern remains that the larger seizures are simply a symptom of a greater supply.
Groups such as the Scottish Drugs Forum believe the number of heroin users in the Lothians may have "stabilised at a high level".
Heroin-fuelled crime committed in the Capital is estimated to cost innocent victims up to £200 million a year, with a hardcore of around 1200 addicts thought to be responsible.
While supplying these addicts remains a lucrative business in Edinburgh, it is the rising popularity of cocaine which has provided the growth in trade for the dealers.
There is so much cheap cocaine in the city that a line of the drug now costs less than a glass of wine, with a gram selling for around £40 to £50 – half what it cost a decade ago.
Gangs based in the Inch and Gilmerton areas are believed to be responsible for the bulk of this trade, with the young men involved making massive profits.
Detectives are confident they have an accurate picture of the city's drug trade as well as the resources to pursue organised criminal networks. In October, police cited the jailing of the leader of a major Edinburgh drug gang as a clear warning to local dealers that they would be caught.
Mark Halliday, 29, was caught as part of the two-and-a-half year long Operation Hurricane targeting cocaine dealers in the Lothians. He was sentenced to seven years and six months after a series of raids netted £300,000 worth of the drug.
Halliday is now being pursued through the courts for assets accrued from his crimes, which the jury heard funded a "Champagne lifestyle".
Detective Chief Inspector Bob Cowper, from the city's drugs squad, says: "Hurricane was a prime example of the work carried out on one of these networks.
"Once we identified Halliday's role, we looked at his lifestyle, his assets, everything. He could be described as a middle manager who organised couriers.
"Eventually he was jailed despite never being caught with drugs himself. We don't work only to seize or disrupt drugs supply. We also work to identify and seize assets from those involved."
The drugs squad has identified a hit list of up to 100 dealers in heroin, crack and cocaine following months of detailed intelligence gathering last year.
Detectives say they only make their move once enough evidence has been collected to secure convictions and substantial prison sentences.
The squad's officers build up a detailed knowledge of local dealers and their clientele, often taking several months to put an operation together.
The squad is given "blind" intelligence naming potential drug dealing targets to investigate.
The information comes from a variety of sources, whose names are withheld to protect their safety.
Its three teams work with a variety of agencies, from the Inland Revenue to the Department of Work and Pensions, to gather backgrounds on the suspects. The squads also work closely and share intelligence with the Scottish Drugs Enforcement Agency (SDEA), who pursue those criminals at a national level. Feuds between gangs in the city can also prove a valuable resource for detectives pursuing drug dealers, opening up valuable opportunities for new avenues of investigations.
The ongoing dispute between rival criminals from the Inch and Gilmerton areas and those from Granton and Royston has led to a spate of shootings.
Such outbreaks of violence gives officers the chance to secure the warrants for the raids or surveillance operations which can provide the vital breakthrough in smashing a drug gang.
The current violence may yet prove to be a significant breakthrough in the ever shifting battle to stem the city's drugs trade.
As DCI Cowper says: "Both the criminals and police move with the times. It's our job to stay one step ahead of them."
