 Police say drugs crime costs Plymouth �110m a year |
A campaign to catch drug dealers in a Devon city has had an enormous response in its first week. The freephone Crimestoppers phone number normally receives about 10 calls a month on the issue in Plymouth.
But since the "Catch a Rat" campaign began, it has had 86.
It has been brought to Plymouth, where it hopes to encourage anonymous phone calls from people who are normally too intimidated to report drug dealers.
Funding habits
The scheme has already been successful in Swansea and London.
Devon and Cornwall Police drugs officers say Plymouth has 2,500 heroin users. About 1,000 have habits costing �22,000 a year each.
The crime they commit to fund their habits costs the city �110m a year.
The police say efforts to stop crack cocaine taking hold in Plymouth have been successful, but there are users on �500-a-day habits and they have contributed to a rise in street robberies.
One-Minute World News 
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