Col
Most of the dealers are very streetwise and know the law extremely well. It is very rare to stop a dealer in the street and find them carrying a large stash of heroin or cocaine. The amounts they carry would amount to personal use and therefore the punishments they get mediocre and not a deterrent. Therefore the 'long game' has to be played. I can't go into detail about the tactics, however suffice to say its about gathering enough evidence to prove supply or possession with intent to supply. This has the knock on effect of also allowing the police to seize their 'assests' (ill gotten gains) under the proceeds of crime act. Obviously at the time the evidence gathering part of the operation is going on, everything is kept hush hush.
About 6 years ago when I worked in Southampton a large drugs operation was carried out. It was 18-20 months of evidence gathering, and then planning. Over 50 dealers were convicted, and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment and large sums of money and assets being confiscated. For a long period of time it looked to the locals that the police were doing nothing, when in fact there was a lot going on in the background.
