TWENTY-TWO people have been charged with a total of almost 200 offences following 'Operation Gresty', a massive police swoop aimed at cracking drug activity in St Helens.

All appeared before magistrates in St Helens with eight people being granted bail. Operation Gresty swung into action in the early hours of Tuesday May 25 and was the result of 18 months' intelligence gathering by the police to identify specific suspects in the town.

During the raids, police discovered half a kilo of heroin with a street value of £50,000, pill presses and a handgun.