Officers have successfully gained a partial closure order for a Swindon address following a number of arrests at the location last week and concerns that the occupant was being cuckooed by a drugs gang.
The order was sought for the address in Axbridge Close and was granted by Swindon Magistrates yesterday.
The order, which will remain in place for up to three months, has been put in place to safeguard the occupants.
It means that anyone other than the residents named on the order, is prevented from entering the property. By doing so, they are committing an offence and may be arrested.
Sgt Rich Fay said: “Closure orders of this nature enable us to protect the resident, and prevent drugs gangs entering the property and exploiting vulnerable people.
“The order will remain in place for three months – during this time we will continue to work with partner agencies including Swindon Borough Council, to come up with a long term solution to the problem.
“Wiltshire Police will continue to use closure orders as these are extremely effective ways of preventing crime associated with an address as well as protecting the resident who is very often vulnerable to being cuckooed.”
Cuckooing refers to the process whereby drugs gangs take over the address of a vulnerable person usually living in a rural area so that they can continue to sell drugs under the police radar – or so they believe. Often the occupants will be threatened with violence and on some occasions, may be forced to leave their homes.
If you have concerns that a neighbour or someone in your street is involved in drug dealing or is being cuckooed, please call us on 101.
You can also report anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
