A SERIES of police raids in the Sedgefield area has resulted in 13 arrests and seizure of drugs with a street value of £100,000.

Operation Klezmer, an ongoing intelligence-led campaign against drugs, began towards the end of January.

Eight houses in Newton Aycliffe, Ferryhill, Shildon and Spennymoor were searched during the past six weeks as part of the operation.

In the first raids, at two properties in Newton Aycliffe, a man and woman, both in their thirties, and a man in his forties, were arrested for possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply.

Cannabis in various forms was recovered from houses in Kirkstone Place and Aysgarth Close, and hydroponics equipment, used in drug cultivation, was also seized from one of the addresses.

In a raid on a house in Stephenson Street, Ferryhill, two men and a woman in their thirties were arrested and cannabis and Ecstasy tablets removed from the property.

Two men in their twenties were arrested a few days later, one at Greenlea Garth, Newton Aycliffe, and one at Walter Street, Shildon, and a quantity of cannabis resin was seized.

Two days later, a man and a woman in their twenties were arrested at a house in York Hill Crescent, Spennymoor. Cannabis resin and drug equipment were also recovered.

Two men, one in his twenties and another in his thirties, were arrested at the beginning of this month at an address in Burnhope, Newton Aycliffe, when cannabis resin and associated equipment were seized.

A man in his thirties was arrested at a property in Coundon, from which 48 fully grown cannabis plants, with an estimated street value of £48,000 were recovered.

With the exception of the woman arrested in Spennymoor, who was released without any further action, all are now on police bail pending further inquiries.

Acting Detective Inspector Craig Dixon said: "We are pleased with the success of the operation so far, which has been aided with funds from the Community Against Drugs initiative.

"The raids have significantly reduced the supply of drugs in the Sedgefield division, and we are determined to continue our efforts to rid the area of drug suppliers and the misery they bring."