DRUG workers and detectives in Gwent are preparing to combat a predicted flood of heroin and cocaine from abroad.

Experts believe bumper crops of opium (heroin) in Afghanistan and cocaine in Colombia this summer will lead to greater drug use across the region.

Police are ready to step up the fight against drugs as they did with huge initiatives like Operation Corrolla and Tacit that put many of Gwent's major dealers behind bars.

Martin Blakeborough, executive director of Newport drug rehabilitation charity Kaleidoscope, said: "Our biggest fear is the enormous heroin crop in Afghanistan.

"People need to be reminded that however cheap the rugs are, they bring nothing but harm."

War-torn Afghanistan is one of the world's biggest sources of heroin and has links with 90 per cent of the drug in the UK.

An influx of cheap Afghanistan heroin to Newport four years ago and a chronic shortage in treatment facilities was blamed for a huge rise in the amount of drug addicts in Gwent.

The Kaleidoscope project, launched in Newport last year, has been hailed as a major success in helping get the drug addicts in the city access to treatment.

Now it is looking to expand across Gwent and is close to securing funding for a new centre in Tredegar.

Mr Blakeborough said: "The number of people accessing our services is still very, very high which sadly means there are still a lot of people using drugs in the city. There are 100 people now waiting to get access to us, which is just too many but if we can open this new service I am convinced that the problem will go away.

"It is important that we do not centralise the services just to Newport but work with all the local authorities. We are very close to securing the funding for the centre. We are practically there. The costs could be anything between £70,000 and £150,000."

Three years ago Newport had one of the longest waiting lists in the UK for drug users to get treatment for their addictions.

But just six months after it was launched Kaleidoscope had eradicated the waiting list, despite a huge demand for its services.

Detective Chief Inspector Steve Webber, of Gwent Police's drug squad, said: "To my knowledge the yield of opium in Afghanistan is high this year, and so is the cocaine crop from Colombia.

"I think all agencies need to be aware of the extra drugs that will be coming to the streets. We need to work together to be ready for them. We expect this and we're ready to attack it on all fronts."