The discovery of a shotgun with the largest drugs haul in years has sent shock waves through police ranks in Brighton and Hove.

Was this the start of turf wars and the resulting gang violence that is prevalent in other major cities?

Police chiefs are worried, but with the help of Government money they have launched a concerted effort to round up the pushers before they start carving up the city.

Britain has by far the largest number of heroin deaths in Europe - 3,000 last year compared to about 100 in France.

And, according to police figures, Brighton and Hove has the highest rate of deaths from illicit drugs in Britain, 32 per 100,000 of population, compared to 17 in London, the second highest.

It means one person is dying in the city from drugs every five days.

Just why the problem is so serious is open to speculation. But drug barons, their middlemen and street pushers do not care.

They do not care about the families torn apart by the loss of a loved one.

They do not care that addicts will resort to robbing anyone to feed their habits - mothers, brothers, anyone.

They do not care that 80 per cent of burglaries, thefts and robberies in the city and nearly 70 per cent of all retail crime are drug related.

They do not care the drugs problem is costing the nation's economy £10 billion every year.

They care only about the average £7,000 a week they earn by selling misery and death.

To them, Brighton and Hove is a ripening market place, one they intend to get a slice of.

But they have not been having it all their own way.

A major crackdown by Brighton and Hove police has led to significant numbers of arrests and seizures.

Last week, officers found £200,000 worth of crack cocaine, cannabis resin and 60 cannabis plants at an address in central Brighton, the largest haul in years.

With it, officers discovered a shotgun and 17 cartridges, suggesting dealers are now arming themselves to protect their trade areas.

The city has become one of the London drug dealers' favourite places to peddle their dirty trade, according to Detective Chief Inspector Reg Hooke, the city's crime operations manager.

A series of arrests and raids by officers in recent weeks may have given the dealers cause for thought but they are still here, some commuting into the city by train every day.

Shipments of heroin from Afghanistan and Pakistan and cocaine from Colombia arrive regularly in London, Liverpool and Manchester.

London is the main centre of supply for Brighton and Hove, which now has a reputation as the place to buy drugs in Sussex.

Middlemen bring supplies in and distribute them to street dealers, who are usually addicts themselves.

Mr Hooke said: "Middlemen do not usually have a habit. Preying on the vulnerable and turning their homes into crack houses is strictly business for them.

"Brighton is still a very safe place to live and work but the increase in dealing brings with it an increase in the threat of violence."

There were 400 drugs-related firearms incidents in the London borough of Lambeth last year.

Mr Hooke said: "There were only a handful in Brighton and Hove but, increasingly, we are finding firearms linked to drug incidents.

"One of our main aims is to ensure the level of violence seen in London is not repeated in the city. There are very few firearms incidents here and we intend to keep it that way."

Government money, through Drug Alcohol Teams (DAT) is helping finance the city police initiative.

Mr Hooke said: "The DAT money is giving us a great opportunity to reduce the availability of drugs, make the city a safer place and reduce the damage drugs do to the community."

Police are making the city less attractive for dealers by a range of activities: Increased patrols in drug hotspots; more drugs raids (now running at three to four a week); and more intelligence gathering by undercover officers.

Mr Hooke said police could only do so much and appealed to members of the public to help: "We need a real willingness from the community to do their bit.

"Young people, parents, landlords, landladies and others who might know people who are dealing or where drugs are being bought and sold - we need those people to call us.

"We need addresses, names and phone numbers. It is time for courage from the community or we will see this problem grow in terms of lives lost and violence. More families will have their lives ruined.

"The idea of ringing in with information is sometimes seen as unfair to addicts but this is the best way to tackle the problem.

"The Get It While You Can project is successful at providing help to users at the earliest opportunity and there are other groups successfully giving support."

He urged anyone with information to call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or a dedicated line at Brighton police on 01273 620845.

Mr Hooke said: "In both cases there is the possibility of financial reward for information received. We will use all legitimate means possible to fight this problem."

He urged users to get help by calling the National Drugs Helpline on 0800 776600 or the Brighton and Hove Gateway Service on 01273 607575.