Detectives from Edinburgh have made a number of arrests in a day of action aimed at disrupting “country lines” drug supplies into the city.
Six men, aged 38, 30, 29, 24, 22 and 21, were arrested in Edinburgh and Wolverhampton today (Wednesday, 21 July) and charged in connection with various drug offences.
All are expected to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in due course.
Small quantities of crack cocaine, heroin and cannabis, along with a four figure sum of cash recovered during the operation.
Detective Inspector Kevin Tait said: “We are committed to identifying the supply chain which brings drugs into Edinburgh and disrupting the activity of people intent on bringing harm to our communities.
“The county lines model shows crime does not respect borders. “Activity such as this cross border operation shows the benefit of working closely with partner agencies in response to concerns raised by local communities.
“Intelligence is the lifeblood of investigations such as this. Communities should not have to tolerate the damage caused by drugs and I would urge anyone with information which can help us deal with those responsible to pass this on.”
“If anyone has any concerns regarding the abuse of controlled drugs, or anyone who may be involved in the supply of controlled drugs, they are urged to contact Police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
The current trade disruption between the UK and the EU is the result of ignoring expert advice and a chaotic information campaign, which must urgently be solved in three steps, says leading London accountancy firm Blick Rothenberg.
Alex Altmann, a partner and head of the firm’s Brexit advisory group, says: “We warned about serious disruptions many months ago and advised the Government to introduce an implementation phase for businesses to cope with the new customs formalities.
“The foolishness and amateurism of the Government’s approach has created existential threats to many businesses on both sides that currently struggle to trade with each other. The disruptions must urgently be solved in three steps.
“First, the Government must temporarily relax the requirement for EU traders to have an office in the UK to import goods, and subsequently ask the EU commission to do the same. The most serious problem today is that businesses without a presence in the other market cannot import their goods without appointing a customs agent.
“ This is how the new customs rules have been designed by the UK and the EU as part of the Brexit deal. This is a serious flaw. Customs agents are rare and very expensive and the UK currently requires about 20,000 more agents to meet demand. The Government should take this step very urgently to avoid a major supply chain disaster in the weeks ahead.”
Altmann added: “Second, the Government needs to admit that their expensive Brexit information campaign has not prepared businesses well enough for the new trade relationship with the EU. The guidance provided by the UK Government contains conflicting information, not enough detail, and to some extent, wrong advice.
“This has become particularly apparent with regards to the new border situation with Northern Ireland. It has become clear that the Government’s guidance has not been drafted by trade and customs experts, which is a serious shortcoming.
“The Government must take a step back now and relax the rules for the time being, while redrafting guidance and advisory papers based on the final Brexit deal arrangements. This is the only way to overcome the misinformation and provide traders and freight carriers with the confidence they need to sell cross-border.”
Altmann, who is also a Chairman at the British Chamber of Commerce in Germany said: “ “Thirdly, there are some serious flaws in the Brexit trade deal that the Government must put high up on the agenda to clarify and potentially renegotiate with the EU.
“ One area that continues to create confusion among traders and their freight carriers is the new rules of origin provision. The Government presented the Brexit deal as a tariff and quota free agreement. This is only partly true. Tariffs still apply in the normal way for manufactured goods which contain more than 40 percent of ingredients with origins outside the UK or EU.
“There is no guidance of how businesses should calculate and document the origin analysis. This is causing major disruptions to supply chains. Again, we recommend that the new rules of origin are temporarily paused until there is sufficient guidance and expertise available to work this out.”
A voucher scheme encouraging people to visit shops, cafes and restaurants on Leith Walk will launch on Monday (24 August) as part of the Trams to Newhaven project, the city council has announced.
The council is offering shoppers and diners £10 for the price of £5 to spend in a range of participating venues through the itison deal, which is part of our £2.4m Support for Business measures during construction works.
They will also be relaunching the offer for businesses on Constitution Street next month, where vouchers sold out within days when they were first introduced in November 2019.
Main Trams to Newhaven construction work began on Leith Walk in June, following a pause to comply with Government guidance and to protect the safety of workers and residents during the coronavirus outbreak.
The council says they have worked closely with local traders along the route to develop the Support for Business package, which aims to maintain the area’s appeal, drive footfall and minimise disruption throughout construction.
This includes logistics hubs to help businesses get goods into and out of their premises, on-street customer service staff providing advice to customers and businesses and a digital ‘Open for Business’ marketing campaign. They are also working with Sustrans to introduce cargo bikes for service deliveries and moving goods around.
Transport and Environment Vice Convener Councillor Karen Doran said: “We’re excited to be launching this phase of the itison voucher scheme, which will give an added incentive to visit the range of independent shops, cafes, bars and restaurants on offer in the area.
“We know that any disruption can be challenging for businesses, particularly paired with the trying circumstances in which we find ourselves in now. We want to do everything we can to help them to continue to operate, and flourish, over the years to come.
“This project is critical for the city’s carbon neutral future, where transport is sustainable, connected and accessible. We want its benefits to be felt by everyone and we’re working hard to make this happen.”
Over 70 Leith Walk bars, restaurants, cafes and shops have signed up to the itison voucher scheme, which lasts until 31 August. Customers can buy up to three vouchers at a time to use in any of the participating businesses. Vouchers for Constitution Street must be bought separately, and for specific businesses.
Lothian MSP Miles Briggs said:“This is an excellent initiative to encourage customers to continue visiting businesses on Leith Walk and promote trade.
“Shops on the walk have been hit hard by the double blow of lockdown and the tram extensions, so making efforts to support businesses is very welcome.
“I encourage everyone to make the most of this offer and support local businesses.”
SGN Gas Network Upgrade – Queensferry Road, Edinburgh
Scottish Gas Network:
Our work in the Queensferry Road area will begin on Thursday 13 February and last approximately four days. (Sun Feb 16)
During this project it will be necessary to close the following roads to ensure everyone’s safety:
Cammo Road at the junction with Queensferry Road.
During this time traffic will be diverted via Cammo Gardens and Maybury Road.
Queensferry Road will be down to ONE lane in both directions and may cause delays.
Signed local diversion routes will be in place for motorists, commuters and pedestrians.
This project have been planned to coincide with the school holidays, and when traffic is likely to be quieter, ensuring disruption is kept to a minimum.
We’ll be working extended hours to complete our works within the timeframe. We know that this is a busy area and wish to assure you that work will progress as quickly as possible and we’ll be doing everything we can to limit delays and disruption.
Please feel free to share this information with your stakeholders, colleagues and anyone else who may be impacted by our work. All local residents have been notified.
If you have any specific enquiries about this project, please call us on 0131 469 1728 during office hours (8am to 4.00pm) or 0800 912 1700 and our customer service team will be happy to help.
I’d like to thank you in advance for your support and understanding during this time.
Cargo bikes to support deliveries and special vouchers for local shops are part of a £2.4m package of Support for Business measures helping local traders along the Trams to Newhaven route.
Edinburgh Northern and Leith MSP Ben Macpherson has called on Leithers and people across the city to support the excellent shops, bars, cafes and restaurants that are open throughout the tram works on Constitution Street.
The Trams to Newhaven project team has confirmed that tram works on Constitution Street and Leith Walk which will get under way from mid-November – despite ongoing works in the wider Leith area.
Communities will face less disruption with new standards to manage road works and speed up the installation of fibre broadband. A national code of practice will see the standardisation of faster and more modern techniques for trench digging for improving utility services.
The development of more compact cables has seen modern techniques, such as requiring narrower holes and less excavation required, increasing the speed of delivery. The technique also safeguards the roads by reducing the need for return visits to repair failed trenches.
As well as broadband cable installation, this will mean shorter periods of disruption for power, water and gas works who use this technique.
Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse (above) visited a Virgin Media dig to see a new broadband installation taking place and discuss the new code with the installation team. He said: “The Scottish Government has listened to the views of companies who tell us that narrow trenching can help companies deliver fibre broadband faster and with less disruption to communities.
“We understand that utility companies operate in a competitive market. They are therefore constantly looking for ways to improve their efficiency and to reduce their costs in order to keep ahead of their competition. This has led to innovation in how infrastructure, such as broadband, is deployed.
“We have updated the code to enable narrow trenching to take place consistently, and in a manner which protects our pavements and road network, and this has the added benefit that will result in the faster deployment of broadband across Scotland and a reduction in the disruption communities face during the roll out itself.”
Julie Agnew, Regional Director for Scotland at Virgin Media, said: “As Virgin Media continues to invest in bringing ultrafast broadband to more areas of Scotland, this new code gives much needed clarity for networks to be built in a fast, flexible and efficient way with minimal disruption.
“We thank the Scottish Government for working with us and creating an environment that encourages and supports broadband builders like Virgin Media.”
Contractors preparing to begin construction as part of the Trams to Newhaven project will carry out investigation works at various points on the route from later this month.
