Drugs, knives and a bottle of acid have been seized by police during dawn raids across Newham this morning.
Drugs warrants were executed at seven properties in the borough shortly after 5am, resulting in the arrests of six men, all aged between 18 and 27, on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs.
Four warrants were also carried out simultaneously in Chelmsford as part of the operation, with Essex Police arresting a man in his 50s and a woman on suspicion of the same offence.
In addition, officers seized a range of items from the properties raided, including knives, a pickaxe and drugs.
A bottle of corrosive liquid was also found next to the bed of one of the suspects.
The arrests were made as part of an intelligence-led, proactive operation targeting Newham gang members engaged in gun and knife crime and the supply of class A drugs using ‘county lines’.
More than 100 officers from a range of Met Police units took part in the raids, which targeted addresses in Throckmorton Road in Canning Town, New Barn Street in Plaistow, Pond Road and Old Barrowfield in Stratford, and Field Point and Bignold Road in Forest Gate.
Borough commander chief supt Ade Adelekan said: “The arrests this morning are further evidence of our continuing commitment to reducing the level of violence in the borough and disrupting the associated supply of class A drugs.
“In response to the concerns of the community, borough officers have worked tirelessly to identify those responsible for the increase in violence in Newham. Our work will not cease until we have rid the streets of Newham from the scourge of gang crime.”
Det Insp Jim McKee, of the Trident Central Gangs Unit, added: “This is the third arrest phase of a proactive operation aimed at reducing the level of gang violence and drug dealing in Newham.
“Today’s operation has been carried out in conjunction with Essex Police, and demonstrates Trident’s efforts to disrupt gang violence in London as well as associated drugs lines outside the capital.”
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