ARMED police arrested eight people today as part of an operation aimed at tackling a multi-million pound drugs ring.

The raids, co-ordinated by National Crime Squad officers, followed the seizure of drugs with a street value of £1.6miilion -- including ecstasy, amphetamine and cannabis -- in Lancashire, Greater Manchester and Yorkshire.

Today's arrests, supported by Lancashire Police and firearms officers, were made at addresses in Accrington, Nelson, Rossendale, Burnley, Morecambe, and Keighley.

Three men, aged 38, 34 and 43, from Burnley, a 40-year-old man from Clitheroe, a 39-year-old man from Nelson and a 36-year-old woman from Burnley were among those arrested.

All were due to be questioned about conspiracy to supply Class A and Class B drugs.

Police said the 17-month inquiry code named Operation Norfolk was aimed at disrupting what has been described as a major multi-million pound drugs ring based in the North West.

Firearms officers were involved in the 7am raids.

The long running and complex operation focused on alleged drug trafficking in class A and class B drugs across the whole of the UK. As well as the drug seizures leading up to today's raids, officers have also arrested a number of other people for drug-related offences.

Officers have also recovered £500,000 worth of stolen Hugo Boss designer clothes in Oldham.

At 7am today detectives with search warrants issued under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1971 visited nine addresses including premises in Foxstones Lane area of Cliviger.

Det Insp 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 millions from the trade in virtually every commodity of drugs."

It had been a long and complex operation which had shown how closely they could work with forces in a targeted approach to organised crime which had yielded dividends.

Those arrested were taken to various police stations in Lancashire. where they were being interviewed by crime Squad officers.