Three arrested in National Crime Agency heroin raids in Black Country
[gallery] Three suspected members of a major criminal drugs gang have been arrested during dawn raids in the Black Country by a new elite crime-fighting force.
Officers from the National Crime Agency carried out the swoops at two addresses in Stourbridge this morning as part of a nationwide operation.
A 52-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman, both from Ridge Grove, and a 52-year-old man from Barn Close were arrested on suspicion of being involved in the importation of heroin.
Further raids were carried out in Birmingham and Bradford where an additional three men were arrested.
Those arrested are suspected of being part of an organised crime gang responsible for trafficking large quantities of heroin into the United Kingdom and other European countries.
More than 95 kilos of heroin have been seized so far as a result of the National Crime Agency-led investigation, which has been supported by West Midlands Police, the Spanish Guardia Civil and other international law enforcement agencies.
The heroin found was concealed within suitcases with false bottoms, books and specially adapted clothing.
Police believe the gang used couriers to import the heroin on flights from Pakistan.
Richard Warner, of the National Crime Agency, said: "These arrests are a major success for the NCA and its partners."
