A SERIES of dawn raids have been executed across the town in Cheshire Police’s largest operation against powder cocaine.

More than 100 officers were involved in Operation Strikeout this morning resulting in the arrests of 10 men and two women for a variety of drugs offences.

Warrants and searches were carried out at a total of 16 houses in the town with one warrant also being executed by Cheshire Police officers at an address in Merseyside.

Experts in search techniques are conducting detailed inspections of all the houses and numerous items including suspected Class A drugs, cash and cars have already been seized with many now undergoing forensic testing.

Officers also confiscated a quantity of harvested marijuana plants and drug paraphenalia from a suspected cannabis factory discovered in the garage of a house in Woolston.

The operation is part of a crackdown on all drugs, including the highly dangerous low quality powder cocaine being sold across the town.

Anyone with information about drugs is asked to call police on 0845 4580000 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.