Two men from Saffron Walden were arrested as part of an operation targeting a county lines gang.

The operation was led by Hertfordshire Constabulary's specialist county lines team, Operation Mantis, and supported by units from Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) and the Metropolitan Police.

A series of warrants were conducted on Thursday, August 8 in Cambridgeshire and Essex, during which three men were arrested.

Later in the day, a vehicle believed to be linked to organised crime was detected by an ANPR camera. 

The vehicle was tracked from Cambridgeshire through Essex and followed by a police helicopter into the London area, where it was stopped and a fourth man arrested.

Class A drugs, large amounts of cash and other drug dealing paraphernalia were seized during the operation.

A 26-year-old man and a 31-year-old man, both from Saffron Walden, were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and were bailed while the investigation continues.

Fatlum Dautaj, 24, of Ermine Street North, Cambridge, and Ervis Kastrati, 30, of Sackville Close, Cambridge, were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs. Both men have been remanded into custody.

Detective Sergeant Chris Cowell, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Command, said: "This operation targeted the ‘Ben’ line, which was operating in the North and East Herts areas, as well as in South Cambridgeshire.

"We will continue to take a very proactive approach to targeting drug dealing in the county, working with our partners in other agencies to make it difficult for these crime groups to operate, preventing new gangs becoming established and targeting them early before they get a foothold and serious offences can occur."

READ MORE

The Operation Mantis team was launched in 2018 and is made up of officers who specialise in targeting serious and organised crime.

Since May 2019, the team has executed hundreds of search warrants and made more than 400 arrests.

This has led to numerous county lines gangs - drug dealers expanding from urban areas into smaller towns and rural areas - being dismantled and offenders sentenced to more than 600 years in prison in total.