A quiet New Malden cul-de-sac became the centre of a major police operation following a tip-off that a house was being used for drug dealing.

Police swooped into Nevada Close in the early hours of last Friday to raid a house used by the council as temporary accommodation.

The operation came just three days after police were told heroin may have been dealt from the premises.

No arrests were made during the raid but police say they are tracking suspected drug dealers.

Police believe up to 40 people were visiting the temporary accommodation every day and police were ready to move almost as soon as the information came to light.

They followed up the raid by staking out the area over the bank holiday weekend to question people visiting the house.

The raid is being hailed by police and the local authority as a good example of working jointly to stamp out drug dealing.

Chief Inspector Tim Pointer at Kingston Police said: “We received information of the problem on Tuesday and we acted with the council.

“Action can be taken in a short period of time, with us going in and the council securing the property within a few hours afterwards.” Police can take a number of approaches in this kind of situation, from smashing in doors and making arrests to lengthy surveillance operations to target dealers and suppliers.

Chief Insp Pointer added: “We will pursue the people who were involved in this. What goes around comes around.” A council spokesman said: “We are pleased to be working with police to stamp out any sort of illegal activities in our properties. It was unknown whether any drugs were seized on the premises.”