KENT Police arrested 29 people and seized a substantial amount of drugs and stolen property in a series of simultaneous and targeted early morning raids.

As part of the county’s continuing operation to drive down crime, warrants were served at a number of private addresses across Medway, Swale and North Kent from 6am on Tuesday.

More than 300 police officers and staff, drawn from each of the nine policing areas in Kent and from specialist departments at headquarters, were involved in rthe operation which follows 11 months of painstaking preparation.

The raids took place under the force’s Operation Excalibur banner, to weed out criminal activity as part of Kent Police’s work to ensure the county remains one of the safest in the country.

Officers focused on individuals who have been involved with drug dealing or theft and handling stolen goods, in some cases to support a drug habit.

There is no specific evidence at this stage that the people arrested are part of an organised network of criminals.

Thirty warrants were served during today’s raids in Chatham, Gillingham, Sittingbourne and the Dartford area, and quantities of suspected class A, B and C drugs and property believed to be stolen were seized.

Assistant Chief Constable Dave Ainsworth said: “Today’s work by officers and staff and the long-term preparation behind it helped make this a resounding success.

“This sends a clear message to all criminals that they will be targeted, that they will have their assets seized and that ultimately they will be jailed for their crimes.

“This operation will also help break the drug supply chain to the user, as we have done very successfully on previous occasions in Medway.

“Just think, the dealers we’ve arrested are people who could be targeting your neighbours, friends and family - and your children.

“These people may have stolen your property or handled your goods after you’ve been burgled. We have recovered a substantial amount of stolen property.

“We know that drugs drive crime. Our message today is that if you are going to commit crime in Kent – beware.”

Kent Police will look to reunite the rightful owners with the recovered property but is also planning a series of roadshows in February to give people the opportunity to claim their goods back. Further details will be released soon.

Specialist help will also be offered to those arrested people who have developed a drug dependency.

A police spokeswoman added: "The arrests are another success in Kent’s campaign to drive down crime, which began in December during the run-up to the festive season.

"Since the campaign began, more than 7,500 people have been arrested for a variety of offences, including more than 1,000 for drugs and drink-related offences.

Supt Stella Mercer, area commander for Medway, said: “We are obviously committed to developing neighbourhood policing and we all know that drugs undermine cohesion in our communities.

“People living in Medway don’t want this sort of crime on their doorstep and anything that we can do to target drug dealers is to be welcomed.”