'Really safe city' exploited by drug gangs - Police
BBCDrug dealers from London, Birmingham and Manchester are targeting Hull because it is "a really safe city" and "they don't think they will have as much competition", a police chief says.
Ch Supt Matthew Peach, who led five simultaneous raids on an organised crime gang in Hull on 23 April, said officers were "absolutely dedicated" to ensuring "drugs businesses go bust".
Crime fell by 3.7% in the Humberside Police area between September 2024 and September 2025 but drugs offences rose by 45%, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
Peach said "crack cocaine and heroin has seen an increase in the area", but there was "no place for drugs in Hull".
He was speaking to BBC Look North after one of the intelligence-led raids off Spring Bank.
Nicholas David, who runs a butcher's shop on nearby Princes Avenue, said: "I see them [drug users] wandering around like zombies, off their face on spice.
"It brings a certain degradation to the area."
Jennifer Young, who has lived in the area for 20 years, said the problem worsens "later in the day" but "it isn't an unsafe area".
Peach praised members of the community for contacting the force if they suspected drug use in their streets.
"We will take action when the public tell us information," he said.
Some communities were seeing an "increase in theft and violence" that is typically associated with drugs, according to Peach.
Three men and two women have been charged with being concerned in the supply of Class A drugs following the raids.
They appeared at Hull Magistrates' Court on Saturday 25 April and were remanded into custody until their next appearance in May.
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