Chief Superintendent Mark Mathias from South Wales Police said: "Each addict can cost society not far off £850,000

<p><div id="storyEmbSlide" style="color: #282828; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><div class="slideshow ssMain" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-color: #cccccc; padding-bottom: 3px;"><div class="nextPrevLayer" style="height: 319px; overflow-x: hidden; overflow-y: hidden; position: relative;"><div class="ssImg" style="padding: 0px;"><img alt="Heroin addicts cost society £850,000 each, police warn" height="287" src="http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/01852/h_1852940c.jpg" style="display: block; border: 0px initial initial;" width="460" /><div class="artImageExtras" style="font-family: arial; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><div class="ingCaptionCredit" style="padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px;"><span class="credit" style="color: #999999; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.38em;">Photo: PA</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="byline" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: #cccccc; margin-bottom: 5px; color: #282828; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px; background-color: #ffffff;"><p class="publishedDate" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.2em; line-height: 1.48em; color: #3f3f3f; float: left; width: 390px; margin: 0px;"> </p></div><div id="mainBodyArea" style="color: #282828; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', times, serif; font-size: 10px; background-color: #ffffff;"><div class="firstPar"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">Top officers warned of the increasing cost of drug-ravaged society with hundreds of millions is being spent on the increasing number of addicts.</p></div><div class="secondPar"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">Chief Superintendent Mark Mathias from South Wales Police said: "Each addict can cost society not far off £850,000.</p></div><div class="thirdPar"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">"You work through all the treatment, all the criminal justice issues that arise - then you see a significant costs involved."</p></div><div class="fourthPar"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">Police in Swansea have launched a £500,00 clampdown in the city known as the "heroin capital of Wales" where officers have seized 1,000 "deals" in the last two weeks.</p></div><div class="fifthPar"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">Superintendent Phil Davies said: "Some of these drug dealers have stated they are untouchable.</p></div><div class="body"><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">"My message to them is there is no hiding place, we will find you, we will catch you and we will put you behind bars."</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">Addict Amy Protheroe, 20, who has been an addict since she was 13 has just started her fifth treatment programme in Swansea.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">She said: "When you're a heroin addict you wake up and you think straight away: "Where am I going to get money from, where am I going to score from?'"</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">"You get up, you go out, you get the money for the heroin, you buy the heroin, you do the heroin and then it starts all over again.</p><p style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0.7em; padding-left: 0px; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1.4em; line-height: 1.48em; margin: 0px;">"To be honest, heroin has wrecked my life."</p></div></div></p>

Chief Superintendent Mark Mathias from South Wales Police said: "Each addict can cost society not far off £850,000

Photo: PA   Top officers warned of the increasing cost of drug-ravaged society with hundreds of millions is being spent on the increasing nu...

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charity worker employed by one of David Cameron’s Big Society gurus has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine with a street value of £120,000

<p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>charity worker employed by one of David Cameron’s Big Society gurus has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine with a street value of £120,000 into Britain.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Former US gang member Derrick ‘Anthony’ Mitchell was held at Heathrow this month after UK Border Agency officers allegedly discovered 3kg of drugs in his luggage. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Mitchell, 37, is a duty manager at the South London-based Kids Company founded by charity boss Camila Batmanghelidjh. She set it up in 1996 to care for abused, neglected or  abandoned children in London’s inner-city communities. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>She has been described as ‘Britain’s most colourful charity leader’ because of her style, dress sense and selfless approach to charity work. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The award-winning author and campaigner was invited  to 10 Downing Street last year. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>She also advises former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and is thought to be one of the inspirations behind Mr Cameron’s pledge to ‘hug a hoodie’. </span></span><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Ms Batmanghelidjh spoke of her shock at the allegations surrounding Mr Mitchell, whom  she described as a ‘street-level youth mentor’.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>She said: ‘Obviously, because the judicial process needs to take place, we cannot legally comment. The only thing I can say is that the alleged incident took place while he was on holiday in his own time.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>‘At this stage I do not know enough to know the full details. But as a worker, he gave exceptional commitment to the kids over a number of years and I can never take that away from him. <br /></span></span></p><div class="thinCenter" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: auto; min-height: 1px; width: 470px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Pledge: David Cameron's Big Society aims to 'take power away from politicians and give it to people'" class="blkBorder" height="317" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/30/article-2055210-0C38D0A600000578-92_468x317.jpg" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="468" /></span><p class="imageCaption" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pledge: David Cameron's Big Society aims to 'take power away from politicians and give it to people'</span></p></div><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>As an organisation, we employ a range of people and a lot of them have had challenging backgrounds as children and we have given them chances. The majority of them go on to do incredibly well.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>‘In the situation of this individual, if what is alleged has occurred, he has made an abhorrent choice and I do not agree with it.’ </span></span></p><div class="thinFloatRHS" style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 4px; margin-left: 10px; min-height: 1px; width: 235px; float: right; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="Camila Batmanghelidjh said she was shocked at the allegations surrounding Mr Mitchell, claiming he gave 'exceptional commitment to the kids'" class="blkBorder" height="423" src="http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/10/30/article-2055210-0084BEEE00000578-354_233x423.jpg" style="padding: 0px; margin: 0px; border: 1px solid black;" width="233" /></span><p class="imageCaption" style="min-height: 1px; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Camila Batmanghelidjh said she was shocked at the allegations surrounding Mr Mitchell, claiming he gave 'exceptional commitment to the kids'</span></p></div><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Mitchell, of Camberwell, south London, was arrested at Heathrow on October 6 and remanded in custody by Uxbridge magistrates the next day. He will reappear in court in the next month. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>The university undergraduate has previously spoken of deciding to rebuild his life after leaving a violent street gang in Miami.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>He claimed he had earlier sold drugs and lost a family member to violence at the age of 19 when his sister bled to death after being stabbed in a leg.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>After coming to Britain in his 20s, he began working with the charity about five years ago, attempting to convince youths in gangs to turn their back on crime. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Kids Company operates from three centres in Southwark, Lambeth and Camden in London, as well as working in 37 inner-city schools.</span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>It employs more than 600 people in full and part-time roles to reach out to 14,000 children from the capital’s most deprived and crime-ridden areas. </span></span></p><p style="min-height: 1px; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff; padding: 0px; margin: 0px;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>Many of the youngsters live with  parents who are unable to care  for them and have had severely troubled lives.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left; background-color: #ffffff;"><br /><br /></span></p>

charity worker employed by one of David Cameron’s Big Society gurus has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine with a street value of £120,000

charity worker employed by one of David Cameron’s Big Society gurus has been arrested on suspicion of smuggling cocaine with a street value ...

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