A series of raids as part of a crackdown by police has resulted in seven people being arrested accused of drug offences.

Officers carried out searches at several properties, businesses and stopped vehicles and people in the street in Sheerness and Sittingbourne.

Along with the arrests - including four people from Sheerness, two from London and one from Essex - more than 140 fines have been issued as part of the special operation.

KentOnline joined officers as part of Operation Fuji, a week long sting into drug offences and anti-social behaviour in the area, which ended on Friday.

They carried out seven drug warrants and 11 licensing checks at high street businesses in Sheerness and Sittingbourne.

Sniffer dogs joined officers on the raids as Kent Police joined forces with British Transport Police (BTP) to patrol and track down suspicious activity on the railway.

BTP officers monitored the line between Sheerness and Sittingbourne and issued more than 140 fines, refused travel to aggressive members of the public and found drugs during stop searches, Kent Police said today.

Seven people have been arrested on suspicion of offences including two men, a 23-year-old and a 25-year-old from London, who were spotted after officers saw them driving around looking suspicious.

Police have said they were allegedly in possession of Class A drugs and a large sum of money but were released on bail until April 10.

A 51-year-old woman from Sheerness has also been released on bail until April 10 accused of possession with intent to supply.

Two people are due to answer bail in connection with the reported discovery of cannabis growing in a property in Leysdown. A 42-year-old man from Essex and a 30-year-old woman from Sheerness have been released on bail until March 8.

A man from Sheerness received a caution for allegedly being in possession of cannabis.

A Sheerness man, 32, was arrested on suspicion of possession of drugs after police dogs reportedly found MDMA and cannabis on him. He was released on bail until March 29.

Insp Tom Mepstead, who ran the operation, said: "We have been able to gather good intelligence and build a much bigger picture of the crime activity in Sheerness as a result of this targeted operation.

"People living in the community have been so helpful in coming forward with information, which we take very seriously.

"As well as the arrests we’ve now got more avenues we can explore in order to crack down on the increasing drug-related crime we’ve been seeing in Sheerness.

"We want people to feel safe and we hope that residents have been encouraged by seeing more of us in the town. We want people to know that we do act on the things that are reported to us and our priority is always to bring criminals to justice."