Drugs, ammo and more than £7k cash seized in police op

Ammunition was also seized and made safe.

Several drugs operations have been disrupted and 11 people have been charged as part of the County Lines crackdown, which took place between October 3 and October 10.

The arrests were made across the county and into London, including in Southend, Basildon, Chelmsford, Colchester and Clacton.

Detective Chief Insp Neal Miller said: “The work our teams put into identifying County Lines, investigating them, establishing who is behind them and then building cases against those involved should not be underestimated.

“But our teams are specialists in their fields. They are experts in case building, which means our suspects will not know that an overwhelming case is quietly being built against them so they can be put before the courts.

“These results clearly show the work we are carrying out is working, but we are under no illusions that some groups of people do believe they are above the law and they do think they can sell their product in Essex.

“The people who do this cause significant harm to our communities and we make no apology for pursuing them relentlessly”

Police investigations continue into those who were either released on bail or released under investigation.

In total, officers from Essex Police’s serious violence unit seized 220 grams of crack cocaine, 700 wraps of crack cocaine, 129 grams of heroin, 700 wraps of heroin and 400 wraps of cocaine.

During the County Lines 'intensification week', police also safeguarded 18 people, which means they have been lifted out of gang involvement and offered advice on how to dissociate themselves from that lifestyle.

Mr Miller added: “Although the public might be more used to seeing the enforcement side of our work, there is a lot more to the serious violence unit than that.

“Our Raptor safeguarding officers are working hard every day to ensure those who are at risk of being exploited are given the support and help which is needed.”