Thursday, 13 February, 2003, 16:40 GMT
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The head of Dyfed-Powys Police has said he would get rid of drugs in Britain by shooting international drug dealers who target Britain.
Chief Superintendent Terence Grange would line drug barons up against a wall and open fire, he told a west Wales newspaper.
Mr Grange said he would tell drug dealers “‘If you would be so kind as to stand up against that wall for a minute.’
“Then I’d be shouting ‘load, aim, fire’. Personally, I’d shoot.”
He made his comments in an interview with the Llanelli Star newspaper, which is running a campaign locally to rid shops of merchandise which make drugs appear attractive to young people.
Mr Grange had given his backing to the campaign.
He also thinks people who are repeatedly convicted of drug offences should be locked up longer for their own good.
To make a comment that the best access is within the prisons is nonsensical.
Steve Lyons, drugs worker
Mr Grange said most were addicts needing help to kick the habit, and claimed the best help available tended to be in prisons. Mr Grange began his career in the police force in north London, and has a reputation for taking a hard line against drug use.
Steve Lyons, a drugs worker with 15 years experience based in south Wales, dismissed Mr Grange’s suggestion that the best place for drug treatment was in prison.
He said while there were delays in accessing treatment for drug users, it was still possible for them to get help.
“To make a comment that the best access is within the prisons is nonsensical,” he said.
“A lot of people we have seen will have potentially been introduced to drugs in prison.
“The prison is a prison, and it is there to punish people, not to treat substance misusers.
“Drug problems are long-term, and they need long-term solutions.”
