Neighbours in shock as police raid off-licence

Jan 1 2008 by Gareth Rogers, South Wales Echo

SHOCKED neighbours looked on as police raided an off-licence.

Part of Bedwas Road, in Caerphilly, was closed as police cars, sniffer dogs and a helicopter searched the Express newsagents and off-licence from 10am until just after 2pm.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said: “Following a search warrant at an address in the Caerphilly area property has been seized and enquiries are ongoing.”

One neighbour, who did not want to be named, told how police cars surrounded the popular shop for several hours.

He said: “There was a policeman stood outside the door of the shop stopping anyone from getting in.

“There were five or six police cars and riot vans around the shop and sniffer dogs were in the garage. A police helicopter was flying overhead.

“A lot of people go to the shop on a Sunday morning and they were being turned away. There were quite a lot of people looking on after a while.

“I could not believe how long it took for them to search the place, it went on from 10am until about 2pm.”

But shop owner Amar Kaherea said she could not understand why the police searched the shop and spoke to her 25-year-old son Jatinder.

She said: “My son does not use drugs and he only drinks in moderation.

“It was really worrying and they made me close the shop without any notice on a Sunday morning.

“It was scary and it seemed to go on for so long.”

Robert Davies, 28, of Bedwas, said: “I was driving past and I saw the police vans outside. I couldn’t believe how many there were. Part of the road was shut off around the side of the shop.”

gareth.rogers@mediawales.co.uk