Police seize 40 gang suspects ahead of carnival

Scotland Yard today swooped on suspected gang members plotting to cause trouble at this weekend's Notting Hill carnival.

A total of 40 suspects have been seized in raids in the run-up to the event in a bid to avoid a resurgence of disorder.

Up to 10,000 police officers are being deployed across the capital each day for the weekend event which normally attracts crowds of one million.

In one raid in Notting Dale this morning an 18-year-old suspected drug dealer was seized in a residential street a few blocks from the carnival route itself.

A screaming woman tried to stop officers in protective gear entering her home to arrest the teenager.

"He's not here - you don't have to break the door down," she claimed as she leant out of the window as officers smashed their way in to the home. The suspect was arrested and taken away for questioning as officers seized a substance, believed to be crack cocaine.

The raids - there were five this morning - come as police have picked up "chatter" on social networking sites about gangs plotting to disrupt the carnival.

Officers are also concerned that while their attention is directed at the Notting Hill event, gangs and other trouble makers will attempt to cause disorder elsewhere. Commander Steve Rodhouse, who is in charge of policing the carnival, vowed to deal robustly with troublemakers.