Met Police in Grove Ward, Kingston, revealed Thursday (August 1) they had seized a significant amount of illicit drugs in the area following a public poll.

A spokesperson from the Kingston-based unit said that a team of three officers had conducted 30 "positive" searches that yielded prohibited drugs in the area in recent days.

"In relation the poll earlier (last) month our small team of 3 officers completed 40 drug stop and searches of which 30 were positive.

"The area of the Riverside, Fairfield and Villiers Road were our focus," the Grove Ward Police spokesperson said.

An image posted alongside the Twitter statement showed sizeable amounts of what appeared to be cannabis and Nitrous Oxide — Laughing Gas or "Nos" — cannisters, alongside drug paraphernalia — all of which were apparently seized during the targeted searches.

The statement from Grove Ward Police revealed they had employed the controversial 'Stop and Search' tactic, which gives police the authority to conduct searches on anyone they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect is carrying a prohibited item or items like banned substances or weapons.

Recent reports have pointed to a dramatic rise in the use of Stop and Search by police in the UK over the last two years, despite the fact that Home Office figures suggested black people are disproportionately targeted by the tactic.