Central drugs

From midnight last night new laws came in making it illegal to possess or sell so-called legal highs. Figures released last month found deaths linked to the synthetic drugs more than tripled in two years, with 76 known deaths over a decade.

Shops here have been taking the now illegal stock off their shelves. Some sellers say the ban will make no difference and those wanting the drugs will find them online. But those who are living with the consequences of how deadly they can be, disagree.

Charlotte Delo from Telford in Shropshire lost her brother Jamie Penn two years ago. The 29-year-old took a legal high at a party, but died in hospital.

Now Charlotte and her husband Delwyn hold talks to help those addicted from meeting the same fate.

Chris Halpin reports.

A Dutchman has been found guilty of conspiring to smuggle drugs into the UK using a fake ambulance.

The £1.6 billion plot saw huge amounts of contraband brought across the Channel under the noses of British police.

Leonardus Bijlsma was convicted at Birmingham Crown Court this afternoon. Prosecutors said he was part of a "lucrative criminal conspiracy" concealed from border officials with the aid of bogus paramedic uniforms and fake patients on crutches.

Two other men from Holland; Olof Schoon, said to be the conspiracy's central player, and Richard Engelsbel had already admitted the conspiracy charge and will be sentenced alongside Bijlsma next week.

A fourth man, 28-year-old Dennis Vogelaar, of Vijfhuizen, Amsterdam, was acquitted by the jury of smuggling class A contraband.

The three men will be sentenced on December 7th.

Drug users in Nottinghamshire are being warned about a rogue batch of heroin which is thought to be behind six deaths in the county in one week.

The victims were all part of a drug rehabilitation programme. Police and public health officials believe the heroin is up to three times stronger than normal.

Dr Chris Kenny who works in Public Health at Nottinghamshire County Council, says it's a sad case as these people were on the 'road to recovery'.

Read more: Warning as 6 people die taking 'super strength' heroin

Two men have been jailed for a total of more than 30 years for masterminding an international heroin smuggling operation from Pakistan.

Ringleader Tahir Mahmood controlled a gang spread over two continents from his home in Stourbridge. After being watched and followed by police in Spain and the UK, he was arrested in raids last year, along with his right hand man Anwar Bashir from Bradford.

The men were directly connected to around 46 kilograms of heroin seized, with a further 49 kilos found as part of the wider operation. In total the drugs had an estimated street value of around £9.5 million. Chris Halpin reports.

Watch: The international scale of £9.5m heroin trafficking plot

Watch: CCTV of international drug boss meeting drug mule