FRAUD Squad officers from the Metropolitan Police have swooped on an Ashford drugs company.

Supported by staff from the National Crime Squad and Strathclyde Police, they executed search warrants at homes and businesses across Britain. Among them was Kent Pharmaceuticals Ltd, in Wotton Road, South Ashford.

The firm is one of six being investigated on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the NHS over prices charged by suppliers for penicillin-based antibiotics and warfarin between Jan 1996 and December 2000.

A police statement said no arrests were made and no charges were imminent.

It said: "The investigation is complex and is therefore expected to continue for some time. For operational reasons no further information can be made public".

The case was referred to the Serious Fraud Office after initial enquiries carried out by the Counter Fraud Directorate of the Department of Health.