MIDLAND - The Midland Police Department continued its crackdown on illegal drug activity in the Borough recently.

Within the past week, officers from several different agencies turned up illegal narcotics after executing two searches. A home at 306 Penn Ave. was examined as well as a property at 330 Beaver Ave.

Police Chief Joseph D'Itri was pleased with the findings.

"We're taking a substantial step towards drug involvement," D'Itri said.

According to police records, the Midland Police Department followed through with a search warrant at the residence of Marcus Wise located on Penn Avenue Aug. 1. Several illegal narcotic items were discovered by the department at the rental property.

The Beaver County ESU team, Beaver County Sheriff's Office and the Shippingport Police Department also assisted in the raid.

Three days later, the Midland narcotics squad found several illegal narcotics at a residence of Kenshendranesh Barnett on Beaver Avenue. The Sheriff's Office and Shippingport police once again assisted in the raid. They were also joined with the Ohioville Police Department and the Midland Fire Department.

D'Itri said they are awaiting lab results of the items collected at the two raids. At that time, the department can officially determine the amount of drugs seized. No one has been placed in custody yet, the chief noted.

According to the chief, his department has been involved in five different cases involving drug activity which is a spike in Borough from the previous years. D'Itri noted they average about one drug raid a year.

He credits his officers for the spike since he has been able to dedicate more manpower to drug enforcement. The officers are able to do a lot more, D'Itri added.

The search warrants were a result of residential complaints and assistance from Borough residents that aided in the investigations. D'Itri said he personally thanks the people of Midland for their help and also encourages everyone to continue to report any suspicious activity.

"The two raids are prime examples of the community and police working together to make our streets safe and to rid our neighborhoods of illegal drug activity," the chief said.