ARMED police raided the home of a Morecambe man on Tuesday morning as part of a National Crime Squad operation to bust a multi-million pound drugs ring.

The 38-year-old was one of eight people arrested in a series of co-ordinated early morning raids carried out with assistance from Lancashire Constabulary's Tactical Firearms Teams.

The raids concluded a long running and complex operation which had focused on alleged trafficking in Class A and B Drugs across the whole of the UK.

The arrests at home addresses in Morecambe, Burnley, Nelson, Accrington, Rossendale and Keighley, West Yorkshire, mark the culmination of a 17-month operation, codenamed 'Norfolk', by the National Crime Squad.

This investigation has already resulted in the seizure of drugs - including ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis - worth an estimated street £1.6 million in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire; and the recovery of £500,000 worth of stolen Hugo Boss designer clothes in Oldham.

At 7am on Tuesday detectives with search warrants visited nine addresses and seized various items of property including financial paperwork, which will be subject of further enquiries.

Detective Chief Inspector John Walker, of the National Crime Squad, said: "We have disrupted what we believe to be a highly organised drugs supply network whose illegal business spanned the whole country and had the potential to earn millions from the trade in virtually every commodity of drugs.

"This has been a long and complex operation which has shown how closely we can work with forces in a targeted approach to organised crime which has yielded dividends. I would like to thank Lancashire Constabulary for its support both today and throughout this investigation - it reflects the importance of inter-agency working in cracking serious and organised crime."

Those arrested are being interviewed by Crime Squad officers at various police stations in Lancashire and have been charged with Conspiracy to Supply Class A and Class B drugs.