Massive samurai sword found in ‘county lines crack house’ opposite school in Dagenham

The ‘crack house’ is said to have cars frequently pulling up outside and couriers picking up and delivering drugs and cash. 

The vehicles would park outside the school opposite the flat where deals were allegedly done. 

After a tip-off and weeks of surveillance, police raided the first-floor flat on Tuesday morning.

Prior to the raid,Metroattended an operation briefing at Dagenham Police Station, a short drive away from the property. The atmosphere was tense as officers studied a breakdown of targets.

The officers were also told how they were to storm the first-floor flat without being noticed as they entered the council block.

Adrenaline was high and focus razor-sharp as the team smashed in the front door using a tool similar to a sledgehammer, dubbed ‘the Enforcer’.

They worked quickly to avoid being identified on the Ring camera at the door, which would have given those inside a chance to dispose of the crack rocks, later sniffed out by police dogs.

After a few hefty bangs, the door was open, and the officers piled in.

Inside, the flat was squalid and littered with what appeared to be drug paraphernalia.

A phone – believed to be used to take drug orders from across London and neighbouring counties, including Essex – was carefully sealed in an evidence bag.

Two electric scales, believed to be used to weigh narcotics, were also found. The Samurai sword was around two feet long, while the Taser was stashed in a bedroom. 

Officers also recovered a wallet containing £1,399 in cash and what appeared to be 27 wraps of crack cocaine and a wrap of heroin.

Police also found all seven suspects inside, who were lined up on the steps outside the flat, handcuffed, and driven off to cells.

Neighbours peered out tentatively as police bashed in the door and cuffed the seven people. Other residents were heading out to work or school and stopped to thank the police team for their work.

One neighbour offered to make the team tea, while a schoolgirl with her mother told an officer: ‘I love the police.’

What was striking was the proximity to a local school, with locals alleging drug deals were being carried out in plain sight.

A parent whose child goes to the school near the alleged crack house toldMetro: ‘No parent should have to have their kids walking to school past cars collecting or dropping off drugs.

‘They shouldn’t have to see drug users shooting up in front of them. It’s great that the police have acted and we are all very relieved.’

The council will now investigate whether the flat is being ‘cuckooed’, a term used when criminals take over the property of a vulnerable person to run their county line or other criminal operation.

If not, it will be repossessed and the locks will be changed.

Following the raid, Dagenham Police Superintendent Biju Premnath toldMetro: ‘With the help of the public, we are making life very uncomfortable for these county lines.

‘This flat was near a school, which is obviously very concerning. We work closely with the schools to give reassurance.

‘I would like to praise the bravery and professionalism of the officers. The fact that a samurai sword was found highlights the dangers. Who needs a samurai sword?’

He encouraged members of the public to come forward with tip-offs, adding they would remain anonymous.

In a week in March, the Met arrested 415 people and closed 115 county lines operations.

In the so-called ‘intensification week’ 85,000g of crack cocaine was also seized.

Last year, they closed 1,500 county lines and arrested 5,000 people.

Superintendent Premnath added: ‘If you are running a county line, my message is we are coming for you.

‘We are having successes and are putting resources into this with the help of the public.’