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House of Smith, Madame Koo, Floritas and Empress Bar have been closed until further notice

After concerns about supply of Class A drugs


Yesterday four popular clubs in Newcastle were closed by Northumbria Police. This comes after their concern about Class A drugs being supplied on or around the premises, and in Newcastle's city centre.

House of Smith, Madame Koo, Floritas and Empress – a famous treble bar – are some of the main clubs on Newcastle's Diamond Strip which have been shut down.

The closure notices were issued at 15:00 yesterday due to Northumbria Police's operation cracking down on drug dealing around in Newcastle city centre.

Eleven people have been arrested in connection to the supply of Class A drugs.

Pictures of the closure notices on the club doors were reported by The Chronicle. Tomorrow afternoon the closure notices will be heard at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court.

Chief Inspector, David Pickett, said in Northumbria Police's news release: "The activity today shows that we will use a number of different tactics to try to stamp out drug dealing in our night time economy.

“We enjoy a really positive relationship with our licencing partners in the city centre and the decision to issue closure notices has not been taken lightly.

“Northumbria Police has a duty to ensure that those coming to our city centres to enjoy a night out can do so in a safe and responsible manner.

“If we suspect that people are dealing drugs in bars and nightclubs then we will not hesitate to take action."

The Tab Newcastle has contacted House of Smith, Madame Koo, Floritas and The Empress Bar for a comment.