Uncapped needles lie on the table in the dingy ground floor flat, an ash-strewn island rising from a sea of unwashed clothes.

Blankets shut out the bright autumn sun and there is an overwhelming smell of stale smoke and damp.

The splintered door rests against the concrete steps in the stairwell as police officers pass through the empty frame to collect evidence.

An intelligence officer tells me the flat is typical of those used by low-level dealers, often drug dependent and desperate enough for a fix they will do nearly anything.

They are prime targets for well-organised gangs, whose members travel from London each day, bringing with them a stash of heroin and crack cocaine.

In some cases the gangs take advantage of people with mental health problems, children in care, or sex workers, anyone they can exert a hold over to take control of their property.

Just last week, teenagers Illias Chellali and Kamal Hussain were jailed after manipulating a vulnerable woman into letting them deal cannabis from her Tunbridge Wells flat.

Video: Raid on home by police

This process is known as cuckooing, but it’s far from the only tactic.

"There are occasions where it's young people, some of school age, who are being used to sell drugs on behalf of others," says Chief Superintendent Adrian Futers, of Kent Police North Division.

"This creates a huge risk for them, but often they are victims because they are being exploited by others.

"As far as adults are concerned there are cases where we've found dealers from outside the county using their premises to supply substances from, and they have not been equipped or resilient enough to be able to challenge that effectively."

Video: Gareth Arnold on the rise in London gangs in Kent

According to officers attached to Operation Jupiter, Kent Police’s new anti-gang task force, the last 10 years has seen an increase in gang activity, with crews from London and further afield operating in the county.

It’s a complicated picture.

In some cases outsiders move in and take over, displacing local criminals; in others, they cooperate with existing networks.

Dealers are sent all over the country, hiring cars or travelling by train, one day appearing in Medway, the next in Southampton or Peterborough.

This constantly changing criminal line-up makes it harder for police to identify and trace individuals.

"The latest raids will have made a dent, but I'm realistic. It's not going to solve the problem we're facing, or will face if we don't get to grips with it now" - Chief Superintendent Adrian Futers

One officer estimates a dealer can bring in up to £2,500 a day selling drugs outside London.

As well as narcotics, the gangs import the violent culture that plagues parts of the capital.

Though still uncommon, several shootings in Kent have been linked to turf disputes between rival gangs, and members use brutal methods to enforce drug debts.

In August two men with gang links were jailed for torturing Kevin Ward, pouring boiling water over him and breaking his fingers in a sustained revenge attack.

He is thought to have owed the dealers just £10.

The latest series of raids - codenamed Operation Wentworth - has seen 39 arrests, bringing the total arrested since August to almost 80.

The team has also seized large quantities of class A drugs including, heroin, crack, cocoaine and MDMA in areas such as Medway, Swale and Dartford.

But solving the problem is not just about enforcement.

Medway is now included in the government’s Ending Gang and Youth Violence programme, a plan that aims to make it easier for different organisations to work together to combat gang activity.

Set up in 2011 it includes social services, schools, councils and hospitals working with police to share information, focussing on prevention, enforcement and intervention.

And Operation Jupiter is far from over - and Chief Superintendent Futers says gang-related crime in the county will not be solved overnight.

"The latest raids will have made a dent, but I'm realistic," he says.

"It's not going to solve the problem we're facing, or will face if we don't get to grips with it now.

"I really want the public to support us in this, and if they spot signs of organised criminal activity targeting our young people or vulnerable people, then we want to hear about it, and we will do something about it."