Five men face cocaine dealing charges in Inverness after police drugs crackdown
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Five men of Albanian, Romanian and Bulgarian origin have appeared in private at Inverness Sheriff Court on charges of dealing drugs.
They were all arrested in homeless accommodation in Inverness after a countrywide police investigation which saw the arrest of several people this week.
Ioan Chis (22), Indrit Gaxha (23), Hamit Morina (28), Floriand Omeri (33) and Vasile Vlad (20) all made no plea to supplying cocaine.
They were committed for further examination and remanded in custody. They will appear again within the next eight days.
Their appearance followed Edinburgh police working with north colleagues to look into wider links in the Inverness area as they arrested eight men and seized cocaine worth up to £225,000 in a day of action focused on eight addresses in Edinburgh and two in London, with support from the Metropolitan Police.
Police also seized up to £30,000 in cash.
Detective Superintendent Iain Ramsay said: "We are committed to identifying the supply chain which brings drugs into Edinburgh and disrupting the activity of people intent on bringing harm to our communities.
"The county lines model shows crime does not respect borders.
“Activity such as this cross-border operation shows the benefit of working closely with partner agencies in response to concerns raised by local communities, as well working with colleagues across Police Scotland.
"Intelligence is the lifeblood of investigations such as this. Communities should not have to tolerate the damage caused by drugs and I would urge anyone with information which can help us deal with those responsible to pass this on.
"If anyone has any concerns regarding the abuse of controlled drugs, or anyone who may be involved in the supply of controlled drugs, they are urged to contact Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
