POLICE in St Helens stepped up their war on drugs with a series of dawn raids on Tuesday, which resulted in the arrests of 37 people and the recovery of £250,000 worth of property and drugs.

In total 31 people were arrested in Haydock, St Helens and Newton and a further six people were arrested at addresses in Huyton and Warrington for offences including drugs supply, drugs possession, theft, burglary, vehicle crime and possession of imitation firearms.

Police expect that more arrests will follow, along with the recovery of more property and drugs, as a result of Tuesday's arrests.

The operation, codenamed Harrier, is one of the largest ever to be undertaken by the Merseyside Police Force - it took 12 months of planning and 300 officers from across the force have been involved in the decisive action against drug dealing and related crime.

Operation Harrier is part of the Merseyside Police Streetsafe Campaign, which is aimed at making communities safer for everyone and highlights how the local communities can work with the police to solve the problems of crime in their neighbourhood.

Some £185,000 worth of drugs, including cannabis resin, crack cocaine, heroin, amphetamines and Ecstasy, were recovered in the swoop and Superintendent Richard Williams of St Helens, said: "This will cause a significant disruption in the drugs trade locally and we will be continuing this strategy with high profile policing over the coming months to make sure we keep the ground we have gained today."

He continued: "The success of today's operation is down to the widespread support of the local community, who have been working with us. It shows how we can turn local community information into action.

"I want to thank the public for their help and patience and urge them to continue to support our work.

"We believe today's operation will have a huge impact on the quality of life for the local community. And the public can rest assured that we are not complacent and the work to transfer the fear of crime from victims to criminals will continue."

The 35 people arrested on Tuesday morning were detained at police stations across Merseyside and those charged were expected to appear at St Helens Magistrates Court on Wednesday and today (Thursday, December 9).

St Helens Police urge anyone who can help them in their bid to tackle crime to contact their local police stations or the free, confidential Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555 111.

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