YEARS OF POLICE WORK UP IN SMOKE

TWO years of Balearic police and customs work went up in smoke yesterday.
348 kilos of drugs seized during the two year period were destroyed at the Son Reus incinerator before an illustrious crowd which included police chiefs and local political leaders. This is the first time that the disposal of drugs seized in the Balearics has been carried out in public. In fact it was the largest amount to have been destroyed in the region with the larger quantities being sent to the mainland for incineration. Official sources said that of the 348 kilos, 115 were hashish and the rest a mixture of drugs including cocaine and heroin. Police chiefs said that the haul was the result of 2.486 drugs operations carried out by the various security forces. The ceremonial destruction of the drugs comes just 24 hours after it was revealed that the Balearics is the third biggest consumer of designer drugs in Spain. Central government delegate Miguel Ramis said “it's important that the public knows what happens to drugs after they are seized and that they see illegal substances are being taken off the streets.” President of the Insular Council of Majorca, Maria Antonia Munar, said “drugs are a danger to those who consume them, their family and their community, hence all the security forces and local institutions have to work together to solve the problem.” She also used the event to sing the praises of the Son Reus incinerator which has been steeped in controversy over health fears. “The plant has shown today that incineration is not so bad and that when it coms to dangerous substances, it allows us to completely get rid of it,” she added.