Two men arrested in Lowestoft after giant operation between Suffolk Police and other forces

Two men have been arrested in Lowestoft on suspicion of supplying drugs as part of a massive joint police force operation across four counties and London.

The two men, aged 28 and 40, were both arrested yesterday after warrants were carried out in the Suffolk town. They remain in custody with inquiries ongoing.

The men are among 17 in custody after 28 warrants were executed yesterday morning in Suffolk, Sussex, Kent, London and Essex overseen by the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Officers were targeting individuals suspected of being involved in complex fraud or supplying huge quantities of cocaine.

More than £400,000 in cash has been seized alongside 41 luxury watches, two cars and a huge amount of designer goods and artwork.

Alleged financial wrongdoing includes money laundering, tax fraud and falsely claiming Covid-19 bounce back loans.

Nine men, between them, have been arrested on suspicion of a variety of drug supply offences which include conspiring to supply large quantities of cocaine. They are aged between 28 and 50.

A further seven men and one woman have, between them, been arrested on suspicion of a variety of fraud offences which include money laundering, conspiring to cheat the public revenue and concealing criminal property. They are aged between 29 and 53.

All of the arrested people remain in custody as inquiries continue.

Assistant Chief Constable Andy Pritchard, the Head of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "Although we remain at the early stages of our inquiries, significant action has been taken against a group of people who we allege are involved in highly organised, cross-border criminality.

"The activity is a by-product of our outstanding working practices with partner agencies, which for this case includes five police forces and HMRC.

"We believe our shared resources and expertise has caused a significant hit to an organised crime group, and we’re going to continue working in unison to ensure proportionate and robust action is taken."

Fourteen warrants took place in Kent, seven in Sussex, three in London, two in Essex and two in Suffolk.

Officers involved were working within Kent Police, Essex Police, Sussex Police, Suffolk Constabulary and the Metropolitan Police.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs officers were also present at several scenes and expert investigators from the Government department are working in partnership with serious crime detectives as inquiries continue.