Crime gang's pounds 10m of drugs seized; Handgun also found in force's biggest-ever haul.

Byline: By BRENDA HICKMAN and GARETH DEIGHAN

MILLIONS of pounds of drugs have been seized by police targeting a crime gang.

Northumbria Police today displayed their biggest-ever haul of class A heroin and amphetamine sulphate worth up to pounds 10m on the streets.

Officers from Northumbria's Crime Operations seized more than 50kg of heroin and a further 13kg of amphetamine sulphate.

Two handguns with silencers were also found in the search after a swoop on a pounds 700,000 family home near Birchwood, Cheshire.

A 32-year-old suspect, believed to me a key player in the racket, was brought back to the North East for questioning and remains in custody today.

Police carried out the strike as part of the ongoing Operation Verona, which is seeking to dismantle the importation and distribution of drugs coming into Tyneside.

But the recovery of this latest haul shows police are determined to target the suspected big players through the chain of supply outside the region.

Last month the Chronicle revealed a series of arrests had been made in the operation involving suspected drugs gang members.

Det Chief Inspector Tim Walker, of Crime Operations, said: "Criminal networks transcend force boundaries and we are prepared to travel and track down offenders involved in the supply of drugs into Northumbria communities.

"We will go outside the region to track anyone involved in the supply chain and those higher up the network. More financial investigations are underway in connection with the arrest in Cheshire.

"This recovery will have a significant impact on the availability of heroin in many North East towns and cities.

"It demonstrates that if you supply drugs we will come after you and if you profit from illegal activities we will seek to strip your financial assets."

It is understood the drugs were found in suitcases in the detached house.

DCI Walker said: "This seizure is further evidence of our ongoing commitment through total policing to disrupt the supply of controlled drugs into our region."

The arrest came as a result of information gathered during the operation.

In previous raids, police struck depots, lorry and container yards and other premises which led to 14 arrests and the recovery of more than pounds 500,000 in illicit narcotics.

Gang members were said to be lining-up customers, thought to be lower level dealers, to pick up cargos of cannabis stashed in containers and large cash transactions were also being carried out.

Then more than 450kg of cannabis, 10kg of amphetamines, quantities of crack cocaine, Ecstasy tablets and heroin and pounds 150,000 in cash were seized.

The suspects - both men and women - were arrested in Newcastle, North Tyneside, Durham and Glasgow.

In a separate, but linked operation, in September officers also swooped on two premises in Newcastle.

A transport compound at Bell's industrial estate, Bells Close, Lemington, was at the centre of further searches.

More than 1,300 9oz bars of cannabis resin were recovered from vehicles, while in a raid in Benfield Road, officers discovered a cannabis factory.

Police are linking that find to Far East gangsters who have used Vietnamese people to set up cannabis farms in rented homes across the region.

Every room in the property in Benfield Road had been fitted with lighting, ventilation and hydration equipment and more than 100 mature cannabis plants were recovered.

CAPTION(S):

FOUND: Packages of drugs were seized in Cheshire; HIDDEN: Supplies were found in suitcases; DEADLY: A handgun, silencers and bullets; EARLIER RAID: Supt Neil Adamson with drugs from the Bells Close industrial estate