Police have arrested four people and seized thousands of pills after raids in Sunderland.
Raids were carried out by officers from Northumbria Police, the North East Regional Special Operations Unit (Nersou) and the National Crime Agency on Wednesday morning.
A haul of 6,000 pills were recovered from three properties in Pinewood Road, Rockingham Road and Colombo Road.
A 30-year-old woman and three men, aged 41, 42, and 58, were all arrested on suspicion of conspiring to import a Class C drug and have since been released under Investigation.
Detective sergeant Hayley Douglass, from Nersou’s disruption team, said: “It’s despicable that criminals will try and turn a profit from the illegal supply of medicines without a single thought given to the health and wellbeing of those who buy them.
“We work hard to protect our communities from the impact of serious and organised crime and that also includes working with our partners to safeguard vulnerable drug users and reduce the number of drug-related deaths.
“We will continue to do this and to tackle all forms of drug supply under the banner of Operation Sentinel – our joined up approach to tackling serious and organised crime.”
The operation was a part of an investigation into the importation of Class C drugs from India after the UK Border Force intercepted packages containing 16,000 pills.
The seizures included a large quantity of Alprazolam – better known by its brand name Xanax – and Zopiclone, a sleeping pill used to help with conditions like anxiety.
Mobile phones and large quantities of cash were also recovered.
Anyone with information about the illegal sale or supply of drugs can report this on the Northumbria Police website or via independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously.
