A HAUL of deadly firearms were seized by police in raids on suspected drug dealers.

The weapons, which include two highly dangerous air rifles modified to fire lethal bullets, were discovered when police simultaneously searched nine homes and three businesses.

Searches of North-East properties in Gateshead, South Tyneside, Washington and Houghton-le-Spring, also unearthed half a kilo of white powder, thought to be cocaine, £5,000 in cash, a starting pistol, an air pistol, and a small number of steroids.

Detectives from Northumbria Police’s Total Policing Task Force, who carried out the raids, have arrested three people on suspicion of drugs and money laundering offences and are now examining mobile phones and documents seized from the property.

Det Supt Peter Farrell, from the task force, said the discovery of the weapons demonstrated just how much violence and fear drugs dealers can bring to the communities they operate in.

“These seizures are a graphic demonstration of the violence and harm inherent in the supply of illegal drugs to our communities,” he said.

“We are determined to make Northumbria a hostile environment for criminals and will continue to target them wherever they seek to operate.

“We will seize their drugs confiscate their cash and destroy their weapons. And anyone found making money from drugs or any other types of crime will be caught and dealt with by the courts.”

The white powder, which was found in a house in Sunderland, has now been sent for analysis. If tests show this is cocaine it would have an estimated street value of £25,000 depending on purity.

Warrants were executed at homes in Greenmount, Fencehouses; Simonside Hall, South Shields; Mill Lane, Hebburn, Ewesley in Rickleton, Washington; Sycamore Avenue in Harraton, Washington, Falstone in Leam Lane, Gateshead, Cairngorm Avenue in Lambton, Washington, and Follonsby Terrace, East Boldon.

Business premises at Prince Consort Industrial Estate in Hebburn, Sedgeletch Industrial Estate in Fencehouses, and South Shore Road, Gateshead, were also searched.

A 40-year-old man from Houghton-le-Spring was arrested on suspicion of possession of cocaine.

A 63-year-old man from South Tyneside was arrested on suspicion of supplying or offering to supply cocaine.

And a 52-year-old woman from Washington was arrested on suspicion of money laundering.

All have been released on police bail and enquiries are continuing.