Drugs raids 'hugely successful'

Police used a digger to break through a wall during one raid

The man in charge of a series of raids across London and the south east said they had delivered a "huge blow" against the illegal drugs industry.

Police raided 30 addresses and arrested 22 people. In one raid a digger was used to smash through a wall.

About 500 police officers were involved and 111 kilograms of cocaine, worth nearly £6m, was seized.

Detective Superintendent Steve Richardson said: "Today's operation has been hugely successful."

We have targeted the key players in a serious and organised criminal network culminating in a huge blow to the illegal drugs industry in the UK Det Supt Steve Richardson Raids target £100m network

Police also seized an unspecified amount of cash and a number of guns during the raids at addresses across London, Surrey, Essex, Kent and Hertfordshire.

One of the most significant raids was understood to have taken place at a modest building, made of breezeblock and corrugated iron, which was used by a taxi business.

Det Supt Richardson, who headed Operation Eaglewood, said: "We have targeted the key players in a serious and organised criminal network culminating in a huge blow to the illegal drugs industry in the UK.

"These criminals have been living the lives of wealthy businessmen through criminal activity and today we have put a stop to this. We believe this network has been supplying drugs around the country, earning millions of pounds every week."

He said the network were believed to have laundered around £100m in the last six months, most of it believed to be the proceeds of drug trafficking.

Sledgehammers

At a house in Hillingdon, west London, a police driver used a digger to break through the brick and steel perimeter wall shortly after 0500 GMT as a police helicopter hovered overhead.

Dozens of officers using sledgehammers and angle grinders burst into the house seconds later.

The raids took place across London and the south east

A 40-year-old man was arrested and several vehicles, including two Mercedes, a Hummer and a four-wheel drive Porsche parked outside were seized.

At another address in West Molesey, 30 officers burst into a house and searched two cars outside. A 54-year-old man of Egyptian origin was arrested.

Detectives said they believed a business had been used as a front for a massive criminal enterprise which involved laundering money from the proceeds of trafficking in cocaine and cannabis.