MONMOUTH Police have confirmed they arrested a suspected drug dealer as part of their operations during the Monmouth Festival earlier this month.

Inspector Geoff Smith said his team had used a variety of methods over the nine-day festival and carnival period to tackle anti-social behaviour, with underage drinking and alcohol-related disorder the main targets.

But he added that the arrest of the suspected drug dealer was "particularly pleasing".

Inspector Smith said: "A number of public operations were mounted prior to and during the festival period, ensuring an increased visible presence on the streets and around local pubs, off-licences and known disorder hot-spots."

Plain-clothes officers were also used in an attempt to identify drug suppliers and users, as well as underage drinkers.

Insp Smith said: "Con-sidering the large numbers of people attending the festival, alcohol-related violence and disorder was minimal, and the full support of the Mon-mouth Pub Watch scheme significantly assisted effective policing."

He added: "The Monmouth Festival is a large-scale event, which helps to promote Monmouth on the cultural map.

"A lot of hard work went into the preparation and planning of this event and the efforts of both the organisers and the staff were commendable. I look forward to working closely with our locally-based partners to successfully police this event in future years."