SUSPECTED drug dealers got a special wake-up call courtesy of York Police today.

Five homes across the city centre were raided as part of a crackdown on drugs and the misery they cause to the city's community.

Twenty police officers dressed in riot gear used battering rams and pneumatic tools to force open front doors in the Walmgate and Groves areas at 8am.

The move, named Operation Cage, followed three months of surveillance and intelligence gathering and aimed to cut off the flow of drugs at source.

Chief Inspector Howard Harding, said: "If these people are prepared to deal hard drugs, then they must be prepared to put up with the hard consequences.

"Residents and business owners have highlighted their fears of drugs and drug-related crime, such as burglary and theft, to us.

"Today's raids are part of a rolling programme of action aimed at cutting crime and improving the quality of life in these areas.

"But residents must play their part as well by securing their homes and vehicles, and passing on information about suspicious activity to the police."

Officers entered and searched two flats in Walmgate, a home in Navigation Road and two flats in Ayton House, Cole Street, The Groves. All properties are council-owned.

One man was arrested and a small quantity of cannabis recovered from a flat in Cole Street.

Search teams with police drug dogs were continuing to search the remaining homes.

Since September 15, search warrants have been executed in the Walmgate and Groves areas as part of Operation Delivery.

The frontline drive by police to disrupt and prosecute criminals has seen more than 2,000 extra arrests made by North Yorkshire Police officers.

York Police also revealed today that three council residents, convicted of drug-related offences, have recently been evicted from Walmgate.

The Evening Press has reported how benches, phone boxes and bicycle racks, could be removed from outside the parade of shops in Walmgate.

Residents and shopkeepers have complained that the street furniture acts as a gathering place for street drinkers and intimidating gangs of youths.

In October, a woman found a dirty hypodermic needle and drug-preparing equipment at the entrance to flats in Long Close Lane, off Walmgate, as she walked with her two-year-old daughter.

In recent weeks community officers have carried out an information campaign, offering residents advice and support through visits, leaflets and open events with the Police on Doorsteps mobile van.

Updated: 10:46 Wednesday, November 26, 2003