Clubbers face random hi-tech drugs checks this weekend as part of a campaign to rid city centres of dealers.

Grampian Police will be the first force in Scotland to use a portable "Itemiser" which enables officers to swab a person's hands and instantly check if they have handled illegal drugs.

The licensees at Aberdeen nightclubs Liquid and Espionage have volunteered to take part in the operation. If clubbers do not agree to a swab they will be refused admission - police officers on the doors will decide who of those seeking entry should be checked.

The £25,000 Itemiser, which has already been used in a successful trial in the city, will pick up traces of all the commonly used drugs including cocaine, cannabis, heroin and ecstasy.

It will also give a reading which indicates whether the person being tested has simply picked up a trace while exchanging money at a bar or from touching a toilet door handle or has handled significant quantities of drugs. Those in the latter category face being searched and arrested.

Chief Inspector Innes Walker, of Grampian Police, said: "We are able to raise awareness of people when they are coming into contact with traces of drugs and to identify those who may be illegally involved in drug supply in Aberdeen.

"The licensees are doing it because along with us they want to make sure their premises are free of the negative effect of drugs and we are doing all we can to provide a safe city centre environment on a Friday and Saturday night, the eradication of the drug problem being one plank of that.

"We want a safer city centre where people can have confidence they will be free from the negative dangerous effects of drug takers, drug dealers and those involved in the drug scene.

"There is a raft of problems caused by the drug scene in Aberdeen from those who lose their lives because of drug abuse, are seriously ill, the anti social behaviour and annoyance caused by drug dealing and the involvement of serious criminal groups in this area."

He said there had been a good response from licensees in the city centre. "A trial project was initiated in October and the initial reaction from the public and the licensed trade as well as local police officers was extremely positive."

He said there had been no significant seizures during the trial but it had achieved its aims and there would be a visible police presence on those premises where the checks were being conducted.

"We are not looking to surprise folk, we are looking to educate people and show we are taking measures to prevent drug dealing."

The project comes during the last phase of Operation Oak, Grampian Police's weekend antisocial behaviour operation which brings together the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), Aberdeen Alcohol and Drug Action Team, NHS Grampian and Aberdeen City Council Licensing Board as well as licensees.

Detective Superintendent Willie MacColl, national drugs co-ordinator for the SCDEA, said: "The SCDEA and the Scottish police service are committed to tackling drug dealers through our enforcement role and we have achieved success in this area with a number of significant seizures."