It takes less than five minutes to buy drugs in Scotland and it can be done openly.
Courier reporters witnessed drug dealing taking place in broad daylight on a quiet residential street.
Today sees The Courier launch a special four-part investigation into how drugs affect lives in Scotland.
Over a number of days, our reporters and photographers staked out an address in Dundee where drugs were being sold from a ground-floor window.
A steady stream of customers arrived at the flat in the Menzieshill area of Dundee. Some emerged from neighbouring closes, purchased their drugs and then shuffled back to their homes.
One of the first men seen approaching the window used a walking aid. Wearing an anorak and a baseball cap, he approached the window, knocked and waited.
A moment later the window opened and a few words were exchanged. Seconds afterwards the man reached in to hand over his money and receive his drugs.
He then disappeared into a nearby close.
This procedure was repeated several times throughout the afternoon and over subsequent days. Even when The Courier’s camera was spotted, addicts, desperate for a fix, still shambled towards the window.
Often, deals would be completed as schoolchildren were walking home from nearby primary schools.
A mixture of social and owner-occupied housing, the street in question is an unlikely spot for drugs to be sold so openly. Opposite the drug den is a line of neat, well-cared for terraced homes.
One elderly gentleman was even out tending to his garden as drug deals were being completed a few metres away.
When a Courier reporter confronted the flat’s occupants, a woman denied drugs were being sold and claimed drug dealing was going on at another address on the street.
The Courier has passed a dossier of material gathered during its investigation to Tayside Police.For more of our special investigation see The Courier all this week