Here's the full Press Association report of what happened:
200 POLICE IN DRUGS RAID AT TOP LONDON CLUB
By Neville Dean, PA Crime Correspondent
Eleven people have been arrested following a drugs raid at a top London
nightclub.
More than 200 officers swooped on The Fridge in Brixton, south London, last
night to investigate allegations of Class A drug dealing.
Scotland Yard said four men and two women were held on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A substances.
Five people were arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A substances.
They are all in custody and will be questioned later today.
The spokesman added that four people received formal warnings for possession of a small amount of cannabis, while a further nine will be investigated after they were found to be in possession of a small amount of Class A substances.
Officers recovered drugs, believed to be cocaine and ecstasy, and a large
amount of money in the raid which followed a two-month covert intelligence
operation, police said.
The dramatic raid was triggered by a command "attack, attack" at just after
11.25pm as clubbers were arriving for the start of the venue's "Polysexual"
night.
Scores of officers then burst in through the front door while others covered
the rear. Police intelligence suggested the alleged dealing was taking place inside and around the female toilets. Earlier yesterday, in connection with the raid, a 29-year-old man was arrested in Harrow, north-west London, on suspicion of possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
The operation, codenamed Atuna, was led by CO14, Scotland Yard's specialist Clubs and Vice unit, and included officers from the Territorial Support Group. They swept into the club - which is housed in an old converted cinema - took control of the foyer and the dancefloor, turned the music off and the lights up.
Plain-clothes officers, operating undercover, were inside the club as the raid
began. Around 130 clubbers were inside at the time of the raid, although it has the capacity for many more. Some clubbers were then brought into the foyer and searched for drugs.
Senior officers were keen to stress that the raid was not targeted at a
particular type of music or style of event, but was instead designed to meet
community concerns.
However, many disgruntled revellers who had to leave the venue complained that their night had been ruined, and asked why it was necessary to halt the night rather than just remove the alleged dealers.
Chief Superintendent Martin Bridger, Borough Commander for Lambeth, apologised to those who had travelled a long way to the club only to see their night end prematurely. He said that substances thought to be ecstasy and cocaine had been found at the club, and insisted that drug dealing had to be tackled.
"Drug dealers and the misery they cause are not welcome in Lambeth.
"The local community and police will not tolerate their criminal
behaviour."
Mr Bridger indicated that the venue's licence would now be reviewed.
"What is clear is that there will be a review of the premises and the control
mechanisms they have in place for keeping drugs out of the premises," he said.
Inspector Chris Bedwell, from the Clubs and Vice Unit, said: "Thousands of
people flood into the capital's world famous nightclubs every weekend.
"It is our job to work closely with the licensees, club owners and councils
to make sure that these clubbers are safe.
"If these clubs are turning a blind eye to Class A drugs being sold inside
then we have a duty to act and deal with these people so that a majority who go to pubs and clubs in London can do so in a safe crime-free environment."
Mr Bedwell said the alleged dealing inside the club was "blatant and
obvious" and that the intelligence operation had been running for as long as
five months.
Uniformed police officers formed a cordon around the entrance early today and handed out leaflets to clubbers that explained why the raid was taking place.John Roberts, the Metropolitan Police Authority's lead member for Lambeth, said the operation was part of a wider attempt to end the misery that drug dealing caused to the community.
Mr Roberts said: "By listening to the community and responding to their
concern we can tackle drug dealing in Lambeth.
"Tonight's operation is part of a much bigger picture where, together, the
police and the community are targeting the anti-social criminality that drug
dealing breeds and the misery that is causes."
He added: "Brixton is saying `enough is enough'. People come to Brixton to
have fun and enjoy the nightlife - they do not want to come to clubs where they are being peddled drugs."
The Fridge nightclub started in the early 1980s and moved into the converted
cinema in 1985.
