Essex Police raided a nightclub in Southend in a show of force to crack down on drugs.
Around 100 police officers stormed Mayhem Nightclub, in Warrior Square, just before midnight on a busy Friday night. They had arrived together in at least 25 marked police vehicles including VG vans and patrol cars. The vehicles lined the roads around the club as the officers took part in the raid.
Once the raid had began, the police officers inside the nightclub stopped the music, turned on the lights and directed people towards the exit. Officers outside the club formed a barricade path in which anyone leaving would have to walk through.
People leaving the popular nightclub had to pass between police sniffer dogs on their way out. If a dog indicated to it’s handler that someone had drugs on them, they were taken to the side to be searched.
Chloe was in the smoking area on the pavement outside the nightclub when the raid took place. She said: “I was caged in the smokers area like an animal for half an hour. I was cold right through to the bone. Then the security staff suggested to the police that they should let us out.”
Mounted police units were at the scene to help disperse revellers into the high street. Hundreds of tipsy clubbers spread out into Southend high street, unhappy about the surprise ending to their night.
Once the club was empty, search teams were sent in to search the premisses for drugs. Officers took around 20 people to the side to be searched but had found no drugs by the time everyone had left the nightclub.
The raid left many nightclub revellers annoyed that their night had come to an end after they had paid the entry fee to get in. Rich Smith, 18, from Benfleet said: “Police raided the wrong club!”
Reece Evans, from Southend commented: “The raid was pointless. The police don’t know what they’re doing.” Other clubbers were repeating similar comments but a general thought was that the police would have seen better results raiding one of the other nightclubs in Southend.
Christine Hills, a prospective Independent candidate in Southend, said: “It was not a waste of time in my view, I stand by the police doing their job.”
Police carried out the operation after reportedly gathering intelligence of drug dealing believed to be taking place at the club. Superintendent Andy Prophet, the police commander for the area, said: “This operation is the start of a major crackdown of people using clubs and bars for drug dealing and associated crime.”
Where you in the nightclub last night? Did you witness the raid take place? Leave your comments below.
I work in Mayhem nightclub and for all the police that came in only a quarter were doing some work the rest were just sat around, hats off casually talking, while we all got herded like cattle into the pods waiting to be searched. I think the police went about this the wrong way as nothing was found and it’s now tarnished the reputation of the club.
The police seemed to be targeting the staff. Once all clubbers had been removed from the club, the police searched all staff areas and staff. The police hearded all staff into the VIP pod area once they had been initially searched. Staff remained here for a further half an hour. Staff were then escorted down the tunnel into the 2nd room whilst a police sniffer dog accompanied them.
The dog indicated that the VIP manager had a scent. He was then taken to the toilets and strip searched by two male officers. No drugs were found on him, any staff member or any customer.
The underlying fact is that the bouncers for Mayhem are notoriously strict and regularly conduct random drugs searches for punters that are arriving at the club.
The police have clearly chose the wrong club to try to make an example of. Regular clubbers of Southend know that mayhem is the least likely club to have drug activity in it. Sunrooms? Mansion? Royal Hotel?
Drugs in nightclubs. With the knowledge of the bouncers, an approved dealer will operate within the premises. Maybe even with the approval of the club owner. The approved dealer may even have a contract to supply that particular nightclub. That is the conclusion I came to, after working in a Southend nightclub some years ago.
It is well known that in a lot of night clubs the doormen have there own dealers in the clubs and in the past I have heard of bouncers finding someone else dealing other than their own dealers, they would be taken to a back room and beaten up and their cash and stash taken. And in my opinion most if not all of these victims wouldn’t go to the police because they wore dealing also another crime that the dealers have a stake in is the tipping off on people who enter the clubs who have a price on there head and the way this would generally happen is the bouncer would have the person drugged on something like rohipnal and walked out the club buy groups of women never to be seen again. I have witnessed this in Mayhem Nightclub, Dick De Vigne’s and Talk Nightclub but it happens at some of the others as well. Not very nice really I hope that one day the non corrupt police will put an end to all this misery!
So wrong . In cases like this , the Night Club owner should be able to bring civil action against the police