Police swept in to shut down two crack houses operating in Basingstoke.
Drug dealing gangs regularly used two rented houses in Blunt Road, Beggarwood, and Dankworth Road, Brighton Hill to deal crack cocaine.
Police Constable David Woods, safer streets field officer from Basingstoke police station told Aldershot magistrates court how when one house was quiet the other house was busy with people stopping by and concerning residents. Every couple of months activity would switch leading police to suspect the houses were being used by the same gang.
The court heard how residents would one day find the address would be taking in people at all hours after previously being quiet for a number of months.
Police applied to the court for a closure order on August 13 giving them the power to board up the houses.
Later that day, police swept in and put the two premises out of action.
Under the order it is a crime to enter the boarded up property without police permission.
Magistrates heard how police officers had used a search warrant to check the houses and found evidence of hard drugs.
On July 22 crack cocaine was seized from Blunt Road and on July 26 a man was arrested in Dankworth Road. He was later found to have swallowed cling film wrapped parcels of diamorphine and cocaine.
PC Woods told the court how the houses had bought fear and misery to residents living nearby. He said that residents in Dankworth road would be woken up at all hours by people banging and shouting at the door.
Some residents said they often heard groups of people openly talking about taking drugs and when people answered the door they were clearly under the influence of drugs.
The closure order is the fifth to be granted this year.
