Police raided houses in Southend at dawn today and arrested 12 men in connection with drugs crimes.

The swoop, codenamed Operation Woodward, was the culmination of five nights' work by officers in Southend who are this week stepping up their crackdown on crime.

They recovered a haul of stolen items including sports gear, golf clubs and angling equipment.

Other items believed to be stolen including bikes, mobile phones and illegal drugs, were also seized during the 7am crackdown.

Det Insp Steve Bright, from Southend CID said: "All the property we recovered this morning was stolen in the last five days."

The men arrested were not all connected to the same incident, added Mr Bright.

Twelve men were today (Tuesday) being questioned at Southend police station.

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