A SQUAD of police seized cocaine and knuckle dusters after charging into a Blackbird Leys home.

The Oxford Mail joined officers yesterday for the latest in a string of drug raids in the city, which saw a team of a dozen officers descend on a terraced house.

A convoy of police cars pulled up at about 8.30am and officers stormed the door, yelling a deafening chorus of 'police, police!'

Sergeant Neil Applegarth of the Blackbird Leys neighbourhood team, who oversaw the raid, said: "We use tactics of intimidation so we don’t have to use force.

"Even entering into a deeply hostile environment, if you attack it super confident and super loud people are cowering in the corner – which is horrific, but better than the use of force."

See the video below of police storming the house 

The warrant execution was part of Operation Byker, a city-wide initiative tackling drug crime and gang activity.

Specialist officers were ready to shatter the glass door pane with a battering ram and force entry - but ended up sprinting straight in as it had been left unlocked.

A police sniffer dog and a team of officers scoured the house in the absence of the suspect, eventually unearthing a packet of white powder, thought to be hundreds of pounds worth of cocaine.

Police constable Alex Penn, who led the raid, said the team also uncovered several knuckle duster weapons and a box of cannabis.

No arrests were made but investigation is ongoing.

Sgt Applegarth urged residents to come forward to report concerns, to help them in their war on drugs.

Anyone with information can call 101 or visit the neighbourhood team at their base at 63 Blackbird Leys Road.

He said: "Focusing on drug users won’t help.

"We want to get higher up the food chain, and that requires information from the community.

"We want to be told every time anybody sees anything they think is unlawful."

He said information is entered anonymously in a database and sources should not worry about being identified.

People who come forward are unlikely to get feedback on what happens with their information, but Sgt Applegarth stressed everything is acted upon and helps to form part of the wider picture.

He admitted drug dealing might never be completely eradicated as the problem is 'endemic in society'.

But he added: "It is my duty to protect people, and I will continue that as long as I can go home at night knowing I’ve done my bit."

Though this is the second drugs raid on Blackbird Leys in as many weeks, Sgt Applegarth said the estate's reputation was not deserved.

He said: "The perception that it is this dark hole into which people can fall is a complete misnomer.

"Blackbird Leys has a real heart - it has criminality but the overwhelming majority of people don’t get involved."

Sgt Applegarth said dealing in the estate has reduced in Blackbird Leys recently.

He highlighted the importance of prevention and said many people get into drugs as it is a familiar part of their upbringing.

He said: “These values are often parentally integrated, pre school, and the further beyond that point without diversion or enforcement the harder it is [to not get involved].”

The team liaises with schools on the estate to encourage a multi-agency approach to identifying any vulnerable children.

Sgt Applegarth said: “It’s about making sure public services are joined-up in the quest to safeguard.”

Sian Taylor, Oxford city councillor for Northfield Brook, also joined officers on the raid yesterday.

She said: ”Dealing is a recurrency across the Leys.

“Generally people are very pleased to see police engaging with the community and actually acting on concerns.”

Officers also executed a warrant in Barton yesterday morning.