SIXTY policemen poured into a pub on Friday night in a crackdown on suspected crack cocaine dealers.
Officers simultaneously swooped on the neighbouring William Hill betting stop and confronted everyone present.
Four teams from the Finchley-based Territorial Support Group, wearing visored helmets, stab-proof vests, boiler suits and balaclavas, swarmed in the front and back doors of The Stone Rose, at 8.10pm, in the largest raid in the borough this year.
The clientele and staff at the boozer, which was holding a ladies' night, were startled as the officers locked down the venue to prevent the destruction of evidence and stop people escaping.
One Territorial Support Group leader told the Observer moments afterwards: "People were taken by total surprise. There were some drugs thrown on the floor as officers came through the pub.
"Only one person was taken to the floor as a result of their behaviour."
All of the approximately 35 patrons, except elderly drinkers, were handcuffed and searched one by one in the venue's toilets at the rear. Some were strip-searched.
Deepak Patel, 38, a director of the company that runs the pub, was critical.
He said: "The way they stormed in and handcuffed everybody was heavy handed. There are lots of disgruntled people.
"It made us feel as though we had a drug factory in the back of our place."
Mr Patel's business has run the pub for four months, changing the name from The Sarcen Stone to The Stone Rose.
He said: "The pub had a reputation before we took over. There's a list of people who have been barred and we've stuck to that.
"When we came, we installed 15 security cameras.
"We look at the CCTV and monitor any suspicious actions, and we handle it.
"I'm not condoning people having any kind of drug. In any pub in any area, there are people who do carry drugs but as a licensee I cannot check every single person and we're not allowed to check."
The raid, which was codenamed Operation Puffer, and saw police execute a search warrant under the Misuse of Drugs Act, resulted in six men being arrested and bailed on suspicion of possession of class A drugs, one for possession of cannabis and one for a public order offence.
Five others were warned for possessing cannabis and had their drugs seized and destroyed.
It had taken months of work by officers from Harrow police's borough investigation unit, working on complaints from the public, among other strands of intelligence, to bring the raid about.
Chief Inspector Louie Smith, who is responsible for intelligence management in Harrow, said: "It is part of a package to deal with drugs and drug dealing, and follows on from Operation Preserver, tackling street drug deals in Wealdstone.
"This operation was a statement of intent. We'll certainly use the same kind of tactics to make more arrests: when we have got reliable intellgience we'll take action."
On the back of the raid, Harrow police's licensing officer Sergeant Carl Davis will consider whether to apply for Harrow Council to review the pub's licence.
