Rhyl was a focal point of the police raids

The youngest to be convicted, a Merseyside lad aged just 15, was sentenced to a year in a young offenders' institution for eight counts of street selling to undercover officers.

He had sold on heroin and crack cocaine in containers for chocolate egg confectionary.

North Wales Police have hailed their mission to rid the region of drug use as highly successful.

It involved months of covert, careful planning with around 100 officers preparing to nail drug dealer gangs.

Covert techniques

Detective Superintendent Alun Jones said: "We used certain surveillance techniques, but I can't detail that.

"A lot of activity came from information given by the public, then it was a case of narrowing down dealing activities

"We were surprised about the 14-year-old boy - he was dealing; that was extremely disturbing."

Combating drugs is an ongoing battle and we can't be complacent

Det Supt Alun Jones, North Wales Police

With many narcotics gone from the area, volunteer groups have been forced to beef up support mechanisms for drug users missing hits.

Mike Denham of Rhyl's Drugs Action Team said: "We started work shortly after raids started to get people from groups to come into area to provide support for drug users.

"That was so that if they found they couldn't get supply they would be support mechanisms in place for them."

The putting behind bars of many of north Wales' key dealers meant many addicts in the area found alternative dealers in other parts of the country, many on Merseyside.

And some from further afield have moved to plug the gap in the region's market with new supply of class 'A' substances.

Det Supt Jones added: "It's an ongoing battle and we can't be complacent.

"It's important we work with other agencies to combat misuse of drugs."