On Friday night, One Woman and I headed over to visit friends in St Reatham. On the way, near New Cross, we passed a huge number of coppers. Now I know why:

More than 400 officers were involved in raids on three businesses in Lewisham on Friday night – the culmination of a huge offensive against gun and drug crime in the borough, with police making 80 arrests. Police used the Millennium Dome as a base to prepare for the raids, rolling out at 10.30pm in two buses and 20 police vans to storm a barber’s, a pub and a takeaway restaurant in Lewisham Way. Officers used a special, airport-style scanning machine to search suspects detained in the raids for firearms and drugs.

Read more here.