27 held after drug gang raids

More than 200 police officers took part in co-ordinated raids across the UK in an operation targeting drug gangs, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said.

Twenty men and two women were arrested in Merseyside, three men in London, one man in Lancashire and a 48-year-old man in Cairnryan, near Stranraer, Scotland.

Officers seized a quantity of cash, class A drugs and a number of forged identity documents.

Searches were also carried out at two properties in Cushendall, County Antrim.

Items were removed for forensic examination from a house in Gaults Road and an apartment on Coast Road in the village, near Ballymena.

The operation, supported by Merseyside Police, took place over the last two days and relates to an ongoing investigation into drug trafficking, money laundering and the production and supply of false identity documents, Soca said.

A Soca spokeswoman said: "The individuals are currently being questioned by Soca officers at police stations in the Merseyside area."