Drugs worth £70,000 are seized by police in Staffordshire raids

Officers swooped on homes in Cannock, Hednesford and Heath Hayes as part of Operation Nemesis.

Fifteen homes have been raided, including a property in Saturn Road, Cannock, where cannabis plants with an estimated street value of £15,000 were seized. A man, aged 42, was arrested.

Officers have also uncovered another large cannabis set-up when they executed a warrant at an address in Benion Road, Cannock.

They made a substantial seizure of plants with a street value of approximately £10,000 and arrested a 23-year-old man.

Earlier this year police recovered suspected cocaine with an estimated street value of £18,000 from an address in Herondale, Hednesford.

A 25-year-old man was arrested.

In total 20 men were held on suspicion of drug offences and remain on bail pending further inquiries.

Insp Geoff Knight, of Cannock Chase Local Policing Team, said: "Through our ongoing community engagement we have established that one of the main concerns in neighbourhoods across the district is drug dealing and we are committed to tackling what matters most to local people.

"There is a clear link between drug crime and burglaries and thefts and we will continue to target these individuals and deal with them in a positive way.

"We aim to send a clear message out to our communities and those involved in this activity, that we will not accept drug dealing on our streets and we are committed to making Cannock and the surroundings areas a no-go zone for drug dealers."

Chief Inspector Carl Ratcliffe added: "Information we receive from members of the public is crucial.

"I'd like to take this opportunity to urge anyone with any concerns about drugs in their area to ring Staffordshire Police.

"With the help of our partners and with the support of the people of Cannock Chase we will succeed in keeping our communities safe and reassured."

Operation Nemesis is Staffordshire Police's ongoing crackdown to tackle drug dealers in the area.