Oswestry winning GHB battle, say police

Police in Oswestry are winning the battle against the illegal drug GHB, through a concerted effort including other authorities, the detective leading the fight said today.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Edwards, the head of CID in Shropshire, said there had been a "marked improvement" in reducing the levels of use of the class C drug.

But he warned there would be no let up by the police and its partner agencies in targeting those manufacturing and supplying GHB and its component drug GBL.

The police, Shropshire Council, the director of public health and the Drug and Alcohol Action Team have conducted a co-ordinated response tackling GHB usage and its associated problems in the Oswestry area.

Mr Edwards said: "As a result of the ongoing enforcement and educational initiatives, there has been a dramatic reduction in the availability of GHB in the area.

"This is really good news for the local community and hopefully, through the efforts of all involved, this trend will continue."

He acknowledged that Oswestry had been at the forefront of much publicity about GHB and had been described as one of the country's hot spots for supply and usage.

Mr Edwards said: "The whole community is very much aware of the situation following a blaze of publicity highlighting the problem.

"I'd like to thank everyone in Oswestry for their support to the police and other agencies – it's this joint effort by people who care that is making a real difference."

Mr Edwards also praised the media for publicity.