POLICE are searching a home in Southampton as part of an ongoing drugs investigation.

Officers swooped on the home in Derby Road yesterday morning as part of Operation Fortress.

A 30-year-old man from the city was arrested during in relation to another investigation, on suspicion of committing a racially aggravated public order offence against a traffic warden.

The incident happened in Graham Road on June 8 when police say the warden was subjected to “racially motivated verbal abuse”.

Officers are continuing to search the property to identify if any drugs offences took place there.

Operation Fortress is a city-wide crackdown on organised drug gangs and violence, focusing on restricting the supply of Class A drugs.

One of the aims is to restrict the supply of class A drugs and officers are keen to hear from anyone who is concerned about illegal drugs or drug-related crime in their neighbourhood.

The things to look out for include:

  • A sudden increase in visitors to a house or flat and people only staying for a very short time
  • Short exchanges between small groups of people at or close to a flat or house
  • Residents leaving a flat or house on numerous occasions throughout the day and returning a short time later
  • People loitering in an area and using their mobile phones frequently
  • New-looking or hire cars parked outside a house or flat that wouldn’t normally be there, and being driven by somebody that you wouldn’t normally associate with driving that style of car.

Anyone with information about drug-related crime is asked to call the police on 101 or email operation.fortress@hampshire.pnn.police.uk.