A police dog called Will sniffed out four people carrying drugs when Pendle Council’s Licensing Team made its latest visit to the borough’s pubs and clubs.
Together with the police, the team regularly use a drug detection dog to crack down on illegal drug use.
On Friday, July 12th, the team visited 11 licensed premises in Brierfield, Barrowford, Nelson, Colne and West Craven.
Pendle Council licensing enforcement officer Mick Armfield said: “Operations like this send out a strong message that drugs won’t be tolerated. During the evening, we found four people with illegal drugs in three premises.
“Will also found a small quantity of cannabis that was hidden in a local car park. And staff at a working men’s club handed in a small package of suspected drugs that had been found in their club.”
Sgt Michelle Dixon, Lancashire Constabulary’s Pennine Division licensing officer, said: “The drugs dog is always well received by the licensees as it’s in everyone’s interest to uncover drug users and drug dealers.
“We need to be able to deal with them in a robust manner so that we can make sure Pendle’s pubs and clubs are a safe place to go.”
Mick added: “The council and the police have an excellent working relationship with our pubs and clubs. This is the third operation we’ve held in recent months and we always have their full support.
“They want to promote a safe, drug free environment for their customers and employees. The combination of drugs and alcohol can lead to problems in the night time economy.
“And operations such as this send out the message that drugs won’t be tolerated. Further operations will take place in the coming months.
“We’ll continue to work closely with licensees within Pendle to tackle any issues which arise within their premises.”