Eight police officers rushed to hospital after being knocked out by 'petrol and heroin' while raiding drugs den

Eight police officers were rushed to hospital this morning after being knocked out by a suspected cocktail of petrol and heroin while raiding a drugs den.

The officers burst into the house in Mill Burn Way, Birmingham at midnight, seizing around £250,000 worth of Class A drugs and arresting three men, aged 21, 27 and 34, on suspicion of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

But within seconds of entering the property the officers were vomiting after being hit with toxic fumes from a concoction poured onto the carpet. Police are currently investigating if the substance was being used as a ‘weapon’.

A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “While the arrests were being made, officers were exposed to an unknown substance, which caused ill-effects for both the officers and the people arrested, namely sickness and breathing difficulties.

”In total 11 people, consisting of eight police officers and three detainees, were taken to Heartlands Hospital…All were discharged early this morning and the three detainees remain in police custody, where they are being dealt with by Soca officers.“

Parts of the are were still cordoned off this morning, with road restirctions also in place while forensic examinations continue.

West Midlands Police incident manager, Chief Inspector Lee Wharmby, said: “Police officers face threats on a daily basis and, on occasions, criminals will use extreme measures to resist arrest.

”Events such as this always raise concern in communities, but I want to be clear that this is about drugs alone and not connected to terrorism.“