Four young men have been arrested over knife and drug-dealing offences as part of a fresh police crackdown.

The suspects, all from London, were arrested in Chigwell Lane, Loughton, today (Tuesday, July 18) by officers from Essex Police’s Operation Raptor team.

The group, made up of two boys aged 17 and two men aged 23 and 27, were also arrested on suspicion of possessing Class A drugs with intent to supply.

The men currently remain in custody where they are being questioned.

Operation Raptor was launched by Essex Police in 2014 in a bid to tackle violent gang crime and take illegal drugs off of the county’s streets.

Since April 2016, officers in west Essex say they have seized In excess of £60,000 in cash, as well as drugs with an estimated street value of £13,000 including cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ecstasy.

This week, Essex Police is also taking part in a national operation to tackle knife crime, codenamed Operation Sceptre.