MAASTRICHT - The police and the municipality of Maastricht hope to have dealt a hefty blow to the city's drug trade with a large-scale raid last night on a number of premises on the Scharnerweg.The raid took place as part of Operation Borderlines, through which the police and municipality, in cooperation with other investigative services, aim to put a stop to drug trafficking and nuisance in Maastricht and South Limburg. Last night's action, according to Mayor and Police Chief Gerd Leers, is "just a foretaste" of what is in store for drug trafficking in his city. The police closed the Scharnerweg yesterday and arrest teams raided café Star and internet café Fes late in the evening. The premises were searched, all visitors checked for possession of narcotics and weapons. At the time this edition went to press, twelve people had been arrested. The cafes had been under police surveillance for some time, including after complaints from the neighborhood. Observations revealed that drug runners were possibly being directed from the cafes. Among the regular visitors were "people who deal in larger quantities and are above drug runners in the organization." The drug trade in Maastricht is difficult to tackle.In recent years, many hundreds of drug runners have been picked off the streets, but the organizations there behind succeed in replacing them in no time, police note. "They function like a logistics company," the police spokesman concludes. "We tackled trafficking on the A2 stretch, but then you see the dealers popping up elsewhere in the city," Leers said. "They move, but with Borderlines we move with them. We will hunt them down."