DETECTIVES are warning the licensed trade that illegal drinking and drug-taking will not be tolerated, following a raid on a pub.
Seventy officers wearing protective clothing raided the Royal Oak, at Yarm Road, Darlington, at 12.30am on Sunday.
They found 74 people on the premises, and all were searched.
The raid resulted in the seizure of £8,000 worth of Ecstasy, cannabis and cocaine, along with 120 bottles of spirit which is believed to be contraband.
Officers also carried out searches of four houses and a cafe in the Darlington area.
This led to five arrests. Four people were released on bail and are expected to be charged with drugs and public order-related offences. The fifth is still in custody.
Chief Inspector Peter Davis said the operation, which was the result of several weeks of surveillance on the pub, had gone like clockwork. He said inquiries into the breach of licence by the landlord are continuing, and that police will be applying to the courts for the revocation of the licence
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