Drugs gang targeted in series of raids

A series of nationwide drugs raids have taken place in order to crack down on a multi-million pound crack cocaine network.

More than 400 officers from six forces took part in the operation, which was led by Cleveland Police.

The raids took place in London, the West Midlands, North Yorkshire, County Durham, Northumbria, Middlesbrough, Stockton and Hartlepool.

Armed units were drafted in in London as homes were raided in the Ilford and Hackney areas.

Twenty-one people have been arrested - fifteen in the North East and six in London. Five men were arrested in Middlesbrough, while one man was arrested in Hartlepool, one in Great Ayton, one in Darlington, one in Chester-le-Street and one in Sunderland.

A man and a woman were also arrested in Richmond and three women were arrested in Stockton.

Two people were arrested following searches at four addresses in Hackney, while two men and a woman were arrested in Ilford and one person was arrested in the Isle of Dogs.

A house was also searched in Wolverhampton, but no arrests were made.

Cleveland Police said that the raids were sparked by the arrests of several street level dealers in raids last September.

Police said that evidence recovered from mobile phones in those raids had helped them to identify those who they believed where the major dealers in the network.

Detective Inspector Dave Lamplough of Cleveland's Organised Crime Unit, said: "We believe this was the group that introduced crack cocaine into the North East when they moved into Teesside. The intention today is to take out all the key players of this gang from the top downwards."

He said that the gang operated by importing drugs into the UK from Jamaica through a string of mainly female couriers. Shipments were then moved via the rail network and on to Middlesbrough for distribution across the north.

Det Insp Lamplough said: "We have had numerous strikes on members of this gang in the past but this time, armed with intelligence we have gathered over several months, we intend to stop their activities for good.

"The vast majority of the people being targeted today are Jamaican. Although the gang had their base in Teesside, the main coordinators of the operation were in London.

"We have hammered away at the bottom end in the past but this time we have the information we need to target the key people. We are taking out the whole network."

Cleveland Chief Constable Sean Price, who took part in the raids, said: "Today's action strikes at the very heart of a lucrative drugs network. The aim is to take out not just street level dealers but the masterminds behind this evil trade."

(KMcA/JM)