A TIP-OFF by a teenage girl led police to smash a drugs company that was trying to hook school children on to newly banned substance.

A £50,000 stockpile of Mephedrone, also known on the street as miaow miaow, was discovered in Muswell Hill following a raid last week in Finchley.

Officers from the Finchley Church End Safer Neighboured Team received information from a GP about a 14-year-old girl who had reported the symptoms of the party drug.

Investigations led police to target a property in Dollis Park last Wednesday where a haul of about 1kg of the substance, which was reclassified as a Class B drug earlier this month, was found.

Two computers with documentation and company details were obtained and, following the seizure, police carried out three search warrants on houses in Muswell Hill.

Officers there recovered a “substantial” amount of white powder, scales, pill boxes and cash, estimated to be in the region of £50 000.

Four men, three aged 17 and a 21-year-old, were arrested and bailed pending further analysis of the substances found.

Team Sergeant Alison Preece said: “Because of their age, we are sure they had connections with schools.

“I am certain that it was teenagers that were being targeted by this.”

She said the gang would have been operating as a legal company until the drug was banned.

Police also believe they had handed out rubber wrist bands to form a culture amongst secondary school pupils that would engineer a market for the drug and keep them tapped into the company.

The bands, similar to the anti-bullying bands that were popular with the same age group, are described as black with purple lettering.

Mephedrone can be consumed as a powder, similar to cocaine, or formed into a pill. Side effects of taking the drug can include nose bleeds, hallucinations, fits, and it can lead to poor concentration and depression.

Sgt Preece said the raid was important in keeping the drug out of the market and away from children, who could have displayed many of the symptoms in the classroom.

“This is a great result for the people of Finchley and the children living around here,” she said.

“This substance has only recently become illegal so there are people stockpiling quantities of it from when it was still legal and are now trying to reap the rewards of selling it now that it is no longer freely available.

“I am glad that we have been able to remove such a large quantity of an inherently dangerous and illegal substance and hopefully prevent a few people from potentially coming to harm.”

Parents concerned their child may wear the wrist band and may have had contact with those behind the illegal company are asked to call Finchley Church End SNT on 020 87335598 or 07920 233740.